Arcanum
by Sweet Trees
Summary: AU. Years ago, two young boys wander into the forest and meet a mysterious person. Years pass, he still visits the place in an effort to figure out who and what she really is.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: We do not own Code Geass**

**Inspired by Sweetatoo's lovely fic, 'No Boundaries'. First time we collabed together so any form of feedback will be most welcomed.**

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**Chapter One**

"I think we're lost, Suzaku," a ten-year-old Lelouch stated, glancing over his shoulder at the forest they just left. "We've climbed this grass verge about four times already."

Suzaku laughed, scoffing the idea. He have been playing in the forest around the shrine since he could walk, he knew it as if it was his own back garden – which it probably was since his house was the shrine anyway.

"Well, if we climbed this verge that many times already then you should be able to make it up all by yourself," the brown-haired kid chuckled, climbing up the verge like it was nothing.

Lelouch, however, scowled and hesitated for a total of three minutes before he sighed and started to climb. He was grubby enough from the last few times he fell whilst climbing this, so it didn't really matter anymore if he got even grubbier. He just wanted to get home, Nunnally must be worried sick and dying out here in the wild with nobody knowing you're there was not a very pleasing idea to Lelouch. He knew coming to the Kururugi shrine for a sleepover was a bad idea! Why can't mom just hire them a maid to babysit them for two weeks?

As like the last time he climbed the verge, his foot slipped, he skinned his knee but was otherwise unharmed because his friend's hand shot out and caught his own before Lelouch could roll back down the brink.

"Why didn't you do that the last time I fell?" Lelouch grumbled as he reached the top with Suzaku's help.

Suzaku didn't hear him (or at least chose to pretend he didn't), instead he fixed a smile on his face, smacked Lelouch on the shoulder (almost sending him toppling back down the verge) and resumed their gruelling march to find their way home. He halted and took a moment to breathe in the fresh air of the forest and take in the view of the city visible from where they were, up high in the hills.

"We'll get home," the boy chimed confidently and Lelouch behind him grumbled, scratching at his arms because the dirty sleeves were beginning to irritate him.

"If I get mauled by a bear, I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life."

Suzaku laughed again and said that he'd take care of whatever wild bear they encountered with the new moves Toudou-sensei taught him. Lelouch simply couldn't be bothered correcting him that whatever moves Toudou taught him would be utterly useless against a creature three times his height.

* * *

The sun was starting to sink behind the mountains and they were still marching through the forest in circles (they climbed the grass verge six times now and Lelouch refused to climb it the seventh time).

Finally, Suzaku stopped in the middle of a forest trail and Lelouch almost walked into him.

"Suzaku," Lelouch growled. He was hungry, he was tired, his clothes were ruined, there was dirt trapped in the weave of his socks, he was decorated with bruises and he had skinned both his knees. For a ten year old, that was enough. "Why did you st…"

His words died away as there, standing on the forest trail in front of them, was a young woman with lime green hair and a black and red kimono.

She tilted her head just a faint degree to the left as she studied them curiously. "Are you lost?" she asked, holding several pizza boxes in her hands. At that moment in time, she could not be an odder sight – a young woman in a kimono, in the middle of a forest and holding boxes of pizza.

Since Suzaku seemed to have lost his voice, Lelouch piped up, "Yes, we a-"

Suddenly, Suzaku caught hold of his friend's head and shoved him down so that he was bowing deeply. "Suzaku, what are you-"

The brown haired kid ignored his hissing and bowed deeply himself as well.

"Hmm," the woman trilled, amused.

"I'm sorry for the bother, C.C.-sama, but we're lost. Can you help us out of here?"

"Sama?" Lelouch echoed and tried to wrestle Suzaku's hand out of his hair so he could stand straight again. He sneaked a glance at his friend and noticed how utterly serious the boy's face was. He stopped his squirming, bit his lower lip and bore with it. If Suzaku respected this person, enough to address her so highly, then she must be somebody worthy of it.

The woman didn't answer. They heard footsteps and not daring to look up, felt her brush by.

What kind of human will just walk away as calmly as that when they're faced with two boys so evidently lost in the middle of a forest?

Suzaku quickly swivelled around, still bowing. "C.C.-sama, we're lost."

"I can see that," the woman answered, not slowing down her pace as she continued down the forest trail.

Suzaku grabbed Lelouch's arm and dragged him like a ragdoll behind him as he ran to catch up with the woman. "Can you show us the way back?"

The woman stopped and thought for a while, during which the two boys gulped hungrily as the smell of pizza reached their nostrils.

"And why would I do that?" the woman asked, turning just enough to regard them with two golden eyes.

Lelouch would have snapped back with a very logical explanation but Suzaku was faster. "Um… because we're lost?"

The woman laughed then ran an eye over each of them again before saying, "Yes, very well. I will help you but in exchange, one of you must be my prisoner."

Lelouch really wanted to know how on earth Suzaku knew such a strange and bordering creepy woman.

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C.C. led them through the forest, following the forest paths seemingly without any effort. She flitted between the trees confidently with her pizza boxes held high to avoid the bushes, not even pausing to consider which path to take when the trail split.

They followed her until they reached what seem like an abandoned church right in the middle of forest. Lelouch gaped, what was a church doing on the lands belonging to the shrine? Suzaku, however, just looked everywhere with bright eyes that showed he recognised the place and was happy to see it.

"Thank you, C.C.-sama," the boy said as he bowed again, causing the woman's lips to twitch into an amused grin again. "I know my way from here, we'll be going now."

"Ara, we? Oh no, you will be leaving by yourself, Suzaku," the woman chuckled, approaching the chapel and unlocking the door. "We made a deal, boys - a contract. One of you must be my prisoner in exchange for my help in getting you out of the forest."

"You were serious about that?" Lelouch sputtered, finding the woman both bizarre, curious and irritating all at the same time.

"I'm always serious."

Lelouch glanced over to Suzaku, pleading him with his purple eyes to help him. He really didn't want to be a prisoner to some stranger in the middle of the woods. Nunnally would be worried sick! This woman may force his parents to pay her a suitcase of money in exchange for his freedom and by then he would be tortured and covered in bruises! This would be exactly like those shows on T.V.!

Sadly, Suzaku was oblivious to the overdramatic imaginations of ten-year-old Lelouch. He just blinked at him then nodded. "I'll come back and get you as soon as I can."

The woman nudged the church door open, glancing back to the two boys. "Don't bother coming back unless you have your father with you, Suzaku. I have all intentions of keeping your friend here until I get what I want from him."

"Since it is Suzaku's father that you want then isn't it more sensible to hold Suzaku prisoner instead?" Lelouch chipped in, hoping to weasel out of this whole prisoner business. Who was going to put Nunnally to bed if he was stuck here?

Suzaku, happily oblivious Suzaku, was not helping. He tilted his head to one side and very unhelpfully pointed out, "But I know how to get my way back from here and you don't."

Lelouch swore he would never share his toys with the Kururugi boy ever again. Hurriedly, he pulled the boy closer and whispered quickly. "You can't just leave me here! She's a stranger!"

"C.C.-sama is very respectable and you can trust her," Suzaku explained sounding very much like he was quoting words that were driven into him. "She is the Spirit of the Forest. She wouldn't hurt you as long as you respect the forest."

Even at only ten years of age, Lelouch found that explanation flimsy at best. Are spirits and fairies not only things that happen in books? Surely, Suzaku must have moved onto books of their age group or above now… oh wait, he forgot, Lelouch was in the advance-reading group. Yet still, spirits exist in this world? And his best friend only just told him NOW? He knew he should have put his baby teeth under his pillow after all!

Suzaku bowed again to the spirit. "I'll bring my father as soon as I get back home."

Then with one glance at Lelouch and a quickly hissed sentence of 'I'll save you, don't worry', he ran between two trees and down a rather worn forest track that was barely visible from the last light of the sunset.

* * *

"Come on in," the spirit said, opening the door and leaving it wide open for him to enter.

He hesitated, wanting to sprint down that forest track and chase after Suzaku. How did this happen? It was a normal day where they were just playing in the forest as always. How did they got lost and how did getting lost end up with him being a prisoner to some spirit of the forest?

"If you want to be eaten by the bears, you're free to stay outside."

Lelouch scowled but glanced around him just in case. Were there really bears here? He sucked in a breath and stepped into the church, pressing the door shut behind him so that the chill of the night stayed out.

He was expecting the inside of the church to resemble…well, a church, but the spirit's home had the walls and stained glass windows of a church but none of its typical furnishings. The altar, the only church-like furniture that was left, was pushed to one side and now displayed a telephone and stacks of phone books. There were blankets and cushions everywhere as if that alone was keeping the place warm.

The spirit was lounging in front of a rather worn out TV, the boxes of pizza lay open on a coffee table in front of her and large yellow plushie held in her arms.

"Is that a Cheese-kun?" he asked, inching a little closer now that he saw there was no torture devices or cages in the room. Now that he noticed, there were lots of Cheese-kun merchandise every in the room – posters, figurines, toys etc.

"Of course," she droned, eyes flicking to regard him again for one second then back to the TV.

He took a seat at the far edge of the sofa she was sprawled upon. It was so awkward, he kept expecting her to suddenly pounce on him and drag him to some unseen dungeon. She moved to get another slice of pizza and he jumped almost a mile out of his skin. She merely chuckled and resumed eating as if nothing happened.

Tense and nervous, he inched even further away from her.

"I'm not going to eat you."

He bit his cheek and lied, "I know you wouldn't."

She picked up another slice of pizza and nudged the box until it faced him. "Eat," she ordered then turned back to the TV.

Suspiciously, he took a bit of the pizza, nibbling it warily as if there was poison laced into it. Before he knew it, he was taking another slice and another. By the time, he was aware he was taking food from the spirit of the forest, the boxes were empty and she was smirking. He stuck out his lower lip and stubbornly glared at her.

Laughing, she unpeeled herself from the sofa, stretched and said, "I will go to bed now, the bathroom is over there and you can sleep on the sofa here."

"Suzaku is going to come rescue me!"

She smiled so mysteriously at him then chuckled as she walked to a bed heaped with pillows and blankets. "Rescue you? You need to be in danger to be rescued, boy. If anything, Suzaku is the one that needs rescuing since he's most likely going to be skinned by his parents for getting lost in the first place and losing you in the process. You, my boy, are in no danger whatsoever."

She pulled at the sash of her kimono slowly, glancing over her shoulder just long enough for him to get the hint to turn around whilst she undressed.

He averted his face and stared down at his skinned knees, biting his lower lip to keep from crying. He wanted to home. A pair of bare legs stepped into view and the spirit knelt in front of him, her hands holding a cotton pad each. He didn't even hear her approach him, so quietly she walked.

Without warning, she pressed the two cotton pads onto each of his bruised knees and he hissed and cried out as the disinfectant stung at his wounds.

That night was by far the longest night Lelouch had ever experienced in his life and even being clean, cuts and knees bandaged and buried under a mountain of blankets until he was snug and comfortable, he didn't fall asleep.

"She's going to eat me. I can't believe Suzaku just left me with a complete stranger," Lelouch muttered into the air of the church as he curled himself into a tight ball.

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END OF CHAPTER ONE

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**A/N: **We're sure some of you are curious as to what the title might mean. Well, Arcanum is Latin for Enigma.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.

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**Chapter Two

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Suzaku halted his eating, chopsticks poised in the air with a tempura shrimp dangling between its ends as he blinked at his mother. "Eh?"

His mother, busy washing dishes, sighed and repeated her words, "Father's not coming home until next week, Suzaku."

The boy almost dropped his chopsticks. "B-But why?"

"Business as usual."

"Then that means..."

"Lelouch would have to spend the entire week with C.C.-sama."

"But…but…" Suzaku nibbled on his tempura shrimp as he fretted. No matter how much his family respected the spirit of the forest, he himself still couldn't trust her entirely – at least not enough for him to leave his best friend in her grasp for an entire day.

"He'll be fine," his mother comforted even though she too gazed out the window with a little bit of uncertainty pulling at her lips. She would have been more comforted if Suzaku was the one staying with C.C.-sama. Leaving another woman's boy alone with a stranger he and his mother was not familiar with did not sit well with her at all – even if the stranger was the spirit of the forest. "But it's too dark to go through the forest now. Your father may have been able to find his way in the dark but you and I will just end up lost if we tried."

She then shook her head and breathed deeply before continuing her washing. "Lelouch will be fine, there's nothing we can do now. We can both visit the spirit tomorrow and see if she'll let you stay with her instead? Now, hurry and finish your dinner; the food is cold enough as it is, with you coming in so late."

Suzaku nodded slightly as he turned his head toward the window, staring straight at the dark sky. "Mom, you should get ready for a funeral; he's so going to skin me alive when he gets back."

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When Lelouch thought he could never fall asleep in a stranger's house, he indeed slept soundly like a baby. Even though the surrounding was alien to him, he still felt the cozy warmth of several blankets and pillows piled up around and on him, providing him with a necessary amount of a sense of protection against the so-called spirit.

As a matter of fact, Lelouch slept too soundly to the point he didn't feel anyone walk past and kneel down beside him (you'd think a boy locked up in a stranger's house would always be on absolute alert).

"Boy, wake up. Wake up."

He turned to the side, pushing her hand away in the process and muttering something incoherently.

C.C. sighed and gave him another nudge. "Wake up. The sun's already high up."

The boy snored innocently.

Shaking her head, C.C. stood up and grabbed the edge of the futon. As much as she was sort of opposed to the idea, this was the only quickest and fairest way. With a small smirk on her face, she yanked the futon so hard the boy came rolling down. It was not until she performed the action did she realise that she did not really require the boy to be awake in the first place. Why would she? He wasn't anybody she knew or particularly care about so it mattered not if he slept in.

"Wh-What happened? Did Suzaku finally trip down the verge?" Lelouch shouted, stammering. Now, he was on full alert.

C.C. smiled and said in a faux sweet voice, "Good morning, boy. Breakfast is on the table." With that said, she walked away, humming a slow, low and unheard-of tune to herself. Aa, yes, she needed him up so that she can claim the sofa back to watch her animated Cheese-kun reruns – that was the reason, yes.

Lelouch stared at her retreating back as if trying to get his brain back into functioning order, then brought up his hand to wipe the sleepy eyes. "Right, I forgot I'm in a messy situation right now."

* * *

"Ouch, the water is cold!" exclaimed Lelouch after he splashed the chilly water from tap to his face. Shuddering, he quickly reached out a hand to grab a cloth and put it on his face, drying all the cold drips of water.

He laid the cloth on the sill of the open windows, thinking it would dry faster that way. Today was a nice day, despite the fact that he was imprisoned by a spirit, he still enjoyed the fresh air of a cool morning with the sun shining down and birds singing in nearby trees. Lelouch didn't know air high up here in the mountain could be so clear and non-polluted like this. If he weren't in a mess and had no idea about the Spirits of Forest or Mountain or stuff like that, he might consider moving up here with Nunnally for good.

Of course, life couldn't be that good and perfect.

Lelouch quickly shook his head to get rid of all those pointless, worthless, impossible thoughts. He needed his mind cleared so he can start trying to figure out a way to get out of here. Who knows what that spirit could have done to him? What if she decided to poison his food and eat him some time later? What if she changed her mind and wanted to keep him here forever? Who would take care of Nunnally?

He wanted to pull his hair out but refrained from doing so. Why did he even agree to go to the forest with Suzaku to begin with?

A sigh escaped his lips as Lelouch was hit with a cruel fact. No matter what was going to happen, he had to stick around here until Suzaku paid a second visit and got him the hell out of there. That was the only one way.

With that thought in mind, Lelouch straightened up and walked back into the church with the towel draped over his right shoulder. What he found inside was absolutely, totally surprising and not what he expected at all.

The so-called spirit was lounging in her comfy chair, munching on the pizza slices and gluing her eyes to the TV screen.

Lelouch was sort of expecting her to do some church-like morning rituals like any priestess would. Weren't spirits supposed to do that or were they just supposed to sit around and wait for worshippers to come and give them harvest presents or something?

He had no clue because up until now 'spirits' and 'goddesses' never existed in his vocabulary.

Well, if the spirit was being a lazybum, then couldn't he just enjoy himself before his sentence was passed? So without another doubt, he sat down on the couch, though managed to keep quite a distance from her, and reached for the pizza box.

His hand stopped midair, however. _What was I thinking? Eating off of a stranger? It could have been poisoned for all I know!_

He withdrew his hand hastily.

The green-haired woman noticed his behavior as she tilted her head slightly to one side and gazed at him. He gulped. "I'm not hungry," he announced. His stomach contradicted him right after.

C.C. chuckled as she brought up the box and shoved it right in front of his nose. "Don't worry. If it were poisoned, I wouldn't still be sitting here now, would I?"

He frowned. Well, that was sort of true, but... nah, who cares? He was hungry and she didn't seem very evil so why not just fill his growling stomach first? Reaching out one hand, Lelouch grabbed the closest piece and brought it up, starting the process of chewing it. It tasted like yesterday's pizza, only a tad bit colder. But no poison involved, he's glad to report.

"Don't you have other food around here?" he asked curiously. Come on, who would really have pizza for breakfast?

"No," she answered absentmindedly as the TV caught her attention once again. "Just pizza."

The boy stared down at he pizza slice in his hand then up and around the large room, eyeing all the furnishings as if they held secret stashes of food. "That's all you have?"

"Of course, it's the most delicious food you could have ever asked for."

"I can't have pizza everyday!" he exclaimed. "First, it's not good for your health. Second, it's a boring menu."

C.C. glared at him coldly for daring to talk like that about her precious little pizza slices. "I believe you're my prisoner now, boya. And last time I checked, prisoners don't get a say as to what they're having for meals. You're lucky that I'm feeding you at all."

Lelouch zipped his lips. He forgot the position he was in, and she seemed angry. Even though he never believed in spirits, one thing he knew for sure: never makes a spirit mad, there was no telling what she might do.

"Sorry," he quickly mumbled and bit down on the bread.

She watched him a bit longer. "You're an interesting boy," she remarked with a playful smirk dancing on her lips.

"Does that mean you're going to put off my execution date?"

"I'm not going to kill you... or eat you, boy," she sighed, flopping backwards and sinking into the piles of cushions she heaped on the sofa. "Can you at least put that out of your stubborn head?"

He pouted at her. Lelouch was known for his stubbornness so this wasn't a new discovery whatsoever. "So tell me, why did you take me prisoner? Do you take all lost children prisoners?"

"Too bad there aren't that many children getting lost in the woods," she replied, chuckling. She pressed the Cheese-kun plushie she was embracing tighter against her body.

"If there were, you'd take them," he concluded, deadpanned.

"Maybe. But for the record, you're the first one."

"That's definitely not good."

"How so?"

"Because I'm sure there are many strange things going through your head at the moment regarding the tortures you're planning for me!"

She blinked. "Didn't you hear what your friend called me back then? He called me a forest spirit and as far as I know, they don't torture people."

"Yeah? What kind of spirit eats pizza and be lazy then?" he countered.

C.C. stretched her limbs slightly as if buying the time to come up with a good, reasonable answer. Finally, she said, "Maybe I'm not really a spirit."

"Say what?"

"Or maybe I am. Who knows, it's been so long since I last checked what I really am."

Lelouch could only stare helplessly and utterly dumbfounded. Could she have been lying the whole time regarding her real identity? But how could she? He had always reckoned that spirits were never real, but Suzaku (and probably the whole Kururugi household) seemed to know and respect her. She must have lived decades for them to think that highly of her.

Was she merely toying with his head? "You're lying," he said at last. "You have to be a spirit. No way you can't be one."

"Why's that?"

"Because you have to live incredibly long to get all that respect you're having! You can't just go to sleep and wake up one day and have people worship you."

"Hmm," she dawdled for a second. "Nice logic but honestly, I don't know. Maybe I got the unique charms?"

"Stop lying."

"I don't lie."

"What kind of a spirit are you?" he almost screamed with frustration. He hated when he had no proof and people started playing with his head.

C.C. simply stared at him, amusement and curiosity lurked in her golden orbs. She then turned back toward the TV, indirectly announcing that the conversation had come to an end and that she had lost interest in him. "A mysterious one, boya."

Lelouch let out a long sigh. No reaction from her. He doubted she would really care if he started taking off and tracing the tracks back toward the Kururugi household. He even doubted she could catch him in that puffy, fancy kimono and in such a sprawling position; he'd get a head-start anyway.

Yet somehow, he found this 'spirit' strange and, most importantly, interesting. Different too, but that didn't count as much since spirits are naturally different to humans. This woman was weird and so…. puzzling! She was like a puzzle that missed many pieces, very significant pieces, and without them the puzzle simply did not make sense.

Lelouch looked at her with burning violet eyes. Yes, maybe he could handle a few more hours staying with her; it's not like she'd kill him or anything, she'd already confirmed it. So he's safe. No worries there. Now, he could kill time and put his brilliant brain into action by trying to figure out who she really was and whether he could escape without getting cursed by her magic (if she had any). Was she truly a spirit like everyone thought or was she just an imposter?

He had no clue and he wanted to find out. Besides, it's not like he was trapped here forever. His best friend – the one that got him into this mess and the one he'd vowed to kill when he got home – would come rescue him in a few hours, the latest had to be tomorrow.

Little did the poor boy know his wish would not come true - yet.

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END OF CHAPTER TWO

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Thank you for all the faves, alerts and hits!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Code Geass

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**Chapter 3**

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"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried when he heard the knock on the church's door. He ran to pull the door open whilst the spirit slowly uncoiled herself from the sofa and followed him at a much more dignified pace.

"Lelouch!" shouted Suzaku from the other side of the door.

"Lelouch-kun?" another voice followed and the boy recognised it as Suzaku's mother.

C.C. raised an eyebrow as sure enough, when the door opened, it was Mrs. Kururugi all right. She nodded her head in greeting and stretched her neck to peer over the woman's shoulder. "Where is…"

"My husband is away on a trip," the woman answered the before C.C. could finish her question. She bowed deeply as she greeted the spirit. "C.C.-sama."

C.C. stared at the woman in front of her then down at Suzaku who looked relieved that Lelouch was physically intact and missing neither limb nor eye. "Well, then I assume you're here for the boy?"

Mrs Kururugi nodded and Lelouch grabbed Suzaku and shook him by the collar. "You left me with her!"

"C.C.-sama wouldn't harm you," Suzaku stated in between shakes, sounding like he was trying to make himself believe those words as well as Lelouch.

C.C. quirked an eyebrow up at the boys' conversation then turned back up to face Suzaku's mother and gave a silent invitation of enter the church by stepping to one side. "Forgive me, but I can't remember your name. All the generations of Kururugi wives' names tend to get a little mixed up in my memories. Are you an Ume or a Mei?"

The current Mrs Kururugi gave a polite chuckle, bowed again and carefully stepped into the church as if it was the most sacred place in the entire shrine. "Neither, C.C.-sama. I am called Sachiko."

* * *

C.C. blinked and all her guests tensed up nervously. She turned and stared at each of them in turn, almost wanting to laugh at the strangeness of the situation. "You are suggesting I take your boy prisoner instead of young Lulu?"

"I'm called Lelouch. Not Lulu," the black haired boy grumbled whilst beside him, Suzaku sat up even straighter and declared bravely, "Yes, take me prisoner!"

"Yes, take my son prisoner."

This time, the spirit did laugh. "Aa, your family never fails to entertain me."

"Please, C.C.-sama," Sachiko pleaded and would have bowed but the spirit had decided she had been bowed to enough for the day. C.C. stared at the woman, keeping eye connection and grinned.

"Are you not even going to ask why I would want a prisoner in the first place?"

"I admit that I am curious but I trust your decisions."

"Do you truly? If you do then you'll have no problem with leaving Lulu-"

"Lelouch! Not Lulu!" the boy corrected again, getting agitated with the conversations' speed. Hurry up and finish! He wanted to know why he was prisoner and more importantly, Nunnally is waiting for him at home!

The spirit ignored the boy's correction and continued her words as if he never interrupted in the first place, "With me."

"Please, C.C.-sama, do consider my position. He is neither a Kururugi nor even a Sumeragi. He's is a stranger and should not be involved. What would his mother think if I told her I left him in the care of somebody else rather than my own when it was my house she left him in?"

"Hm," C.C. hummed then pondered for a while, taking sips from her cup of green tea. "Very well, take the boy."

"And Suzaku?"

"Yes, take me prisoner!" the brown haired boy said loudly, prompting C.C. to chuckle at how absurd it was to be this adamant to become a prisoner.

"Sure, why not? Suzaku can stay."

Lelouch flattened his lips into a thin line, finally feeling guilty that Suzaku had to stay in his stead. But Nunnally needed him, he reasoned and the spirit wouldn't hurt a Kururugi who had served her for so long. He repeated his reasons to himself over and over again as Suzaku's mother got to her feet, said goodbye to the spirit, hugged her son and walked Lelouch away from the church.

"I'll visit you!" Lelouch shouted, glancing back to see Suzaku waving from the church's open door and the spirit behind him, smiling mildly.

* * *

"Onii-sama!" Nunnally greeted upon recognising his voice as he came through the front door, calling her name.

The boy ran to his sister, slipping his hands into hers so that she knows it was definitely him. "Nunnally!"

"Where have you been? Suzaku said you were captured by a spirit!" She fumbled up his arms and patted around his face. "Are you hurt?"

Lelouch laughed meekly, could Suzaku not have told his sister something more believable sounding?

"I'm fine," he assured as her hands made their way to his hair and clumsily felt around his scalp, determined to find any injuries he could be hiding.

"The spirit didn't eat you?" Nunnally asked as he winced when her fingers tugged at a tangled knot of hair.

"No, of course not!"

Nunnally pulled her hands away from his hair, satisfied that her brother wasn't hurt and Lelouch tried not to tell her about his badly skinned knees. She folded her hands in her laps and asked with utmost seriousness, "Don't lie to me, onii-sama, where were you last night?"

Her brother considered lying to her but Nunnally's lips started to form a pout so he muttered the truth. "I was being held prisoner by a spirit."

Nunnally's eyebrows furrowed together. At the immature age of seven, she sat on the wall between believing in such fairytales and not believing. "Brother…"

Lelouch assured her it was the truth and his sister's frown deepened even more before she sighed. Her brother never lies to her so she'll believe him just this once. She then beamed at him hopefully, "Was she pretty?"

* * *

There was a knock on the church door causing both C.C. and her captive, Suzaku, to at each other with raised eyebrows. Suzaku wondered if he should answer the door but the witch, surprising both of them, uncoiled herself the sofa and made her way to the door.

"Who is it?" she asked before opening. It was dark outside and their location was not exactly one where you'll expect many guests. There was scuffling on the other side of the door then a muffled and huffy sounding mutter of words.

Quirking the corner of her lips up, she repeated her question even though she had already guessed who it was.

"I said 'it's Lelouch', are spirits not supposed to be all knowing - how could they not know who's at the other side of the door?"

Suzaku bolted from his seat to the door and wrenched it open. C.C. smirked and it only grew wider when the door opened to reveal a Lelouch who was just as grubby as when he was lost with Suzaku.

"It's not even twenty four hours and you're back here again?" the spirit asked, holding the door open while Suzaku fought between being happy that his friend came to visit him in 'prison' and resisting the urge to tease and laugh at his messiness.

In the end, Suzaku chose to state an obvious fact, "Did you get lost trying to find your way here?"

Lelouch scowled. "I came to visit and check that you're not being tortured and that's the first thing you say to me?" He should have stayed back at the shrine and played with Nunnally instead!

Suzaku glanced up at the spirit then back at Lelouch. "I'm a Kururugi, she won't hurt me."

Lelouch scoffed but otherwise didn't voice any of his opinions. Suzaku glanced back up at the spirit again then, bowed his head to ask, "C.C.-sama, can I walk Lelouch home? I don't think he'll be able to make his own way out of the forest without being mauled by a bear."

"I will not!" retorted the other boy but then rapidly changed his view on the idea. If he could get Suzaku out of the church then they could run away! The spirit wouldn't be able to…

The woman shrugged then an idea popped up in her head. "Wait a few minutes, boys."

She disappeared and faint muttering could be heard in the background before she returned, clutching a phone and looking like the cat that just got the cream. "Suzaku, walk little Lulu home and pick up my pizza along the way."

* * *

"We should just ignore her!" Lelouch insisted as they trooped through the bushes with nothing but a torch C.C. lent them to show the way.

"She's C.C.-sama, she'll know and I promised to stay until father comes back."

"What does she want with him anyway? And why haven't you told me about a spirit living so near the shrine?" Lelouch asked, kicking at the grass of the forest floor. Nunnally is going to be so pouty when he gets back to the shrine. He left her during her afternoon nap thinking he'll visit Suzaku and get back before she woke up, but sadly, he forgot to add 'getting lost' into his plans. Waking up and finding her brother had left her all alone again is not going to make dealing with her as sweet as it usually was.

The brown haired boy shrugged, waving the torch back and forth to check they were going down the right path. "You never asked and C.C.-sama told us that it's irrelevant for others to know of her existence."

His friend had no idea Suzaku knew words such as 'irrelevant' and 'existence'. "Doesn't that sound suspicious to you?"

Suzaku shrugged again, making Lelouch want to mess up his own hair in frustration. Huffing, they made the rest of the walk in silence. Once the Suzaku turned to go, Lelouch couldn't resist saying, "I'll prove it!"

"Prove? Prove what?"

"I'll show you that she's not a spirit!"

Suzaku laughed, turned around and walked back into the darkness of the woods. "She's a spirit. I had been told that since I was a baby, the same goes to my father and his father. The Kururugi family had been serving C.C.-sama for so long, I trust my family's words."

The Britannian boy bit back a reply of calling the Kururugi family foolish and gullible; instead, he huffed and marched to the house where Nunnally must be sulking like it's the end of the world. He would prove it that C.C. was not a spirit, because spirits do not take little boys prisoners.

* * *

The next few days flew by in a blur. Lelouch visited the church enough times for Nunnally to start wondering if there really was a spirit, especially when she hadn't heard or met Suzaku ever since he supposedly switched prisoner places with her brother.

When Suzaku's father finally returned, it wasn't only his wife who rushed over to meet him; Lelouch followed barely an arm's length away.

Mrs Kururugi quickly explained the situation, making her husband palm the length of his face tiredly. "C.C.-sama, what are you doing?" he asked the air before he turning and staring at the boy in front of him.

"What am I doing indeed," came the immediate reply and everyone turned around to spot the green haired maiden, dressed in a black and red kimono, standing in the shade of the trees just beyond the edge of the forest. Suzaku ran from his place beside her and into his mother's waiting arms.

The spirit waited where she was and after placing a hand on his son's head, Genbu Kururugi ordered very firmly, "Sachiko, bring the boys home. I'll go talk to C.C.-sama."

"But I want to go, too!" Lelouch blurted out. How was he to solve the mystery who C.C. was had he not been there to witness this?

The man glared at him and Lelouch's mouth shut so quickly that his teeth clicked audibly together. Suzaku tugged on Lelouch's shirt ends and his father placed his bags and luggage into his wife's hands.

He walked towards the forest whilst the spirit waited, examining the ends of her hair and picking out any leaves or twigs that may have been trapped there from her walk here. Behind him, the children watched before being ushered back in the direction of the house.

"Father will be safe, don't worry," Suzaku assured.

"I'm not worried," Lelouch replied, casting one last glance over the shoulder at the mysterious green haired woman who he never knew existed until a week ago. "Why should I be worried? She's not even a spirit."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER THREE


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_(7 years later)_

The dismissal bell rang loudly in the hallway, announcing the end of another tiresome day at Ashford Academy.

The students were streaming out of the entrance gate, looking relieved at the day's end, and were engaged deeply in conversation with their buddies. Laughter soon filled the whole schoolyard, the kind you don't normally hear when school was still in sessions.

"Suzaku!" called a tall, handsome-looking raven-haired teenager.

The boy in question whipped his head around and met with his best friend. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Do you want to go over to my house today? Nunnally's been complaining that you haven't paid a visit over the past few weeks. She was worried and wanted to see you," his friend explained, all the while turning here and there to wave 'goodbye' to people.

Yes, Lelouch Lamperouge was popular, but to think that his best friend wasn't would be a grave mistake.

"Well, I-" Suzaku began, but interrupted as a girl walked by and winked at him. "See you tomorrow, Suzaku," she said sweetly, to which Suzaku slightly blushed and waved at her.

"Hm, I think Saya likes you." Lelouch observed with a raised eyebrow, staring at the girl's retreating back.

"Stop joking, Lelouch," Suzaku whined, "She isn't my type. Anyway, where were we?"

"About you should be coming over today."

The brown-haired teen scratched the back of his head as a conflicting expression quickly spread over his face. "Ah," he stalled for a moment, then replied somberly, "I'm sorry, I can't. I've got to run some errands for Mom."

Lelouch let out a frustrated sigh. His dark eyebrows furrowed together as he brought up his arms to cross over his chest. "_When _are you available?" he asked impatiently.

"I-I don't know, honestly," Suzaku quickly said, putting his hands up in front of him as if to defend himself against Lelouch's wrath. "Homework, work, I seriously don't even have time for myself anymore."

"Nunnally will be disappointed," Lelouch murmured, then added. "Again."

"I'm so sorry, I'll make it up to both of you sometimes. When I'm free, that is." He let out a nervous laugh, and Lelouch made no response, his face remained emotionless. Suzaku stopped in less than a second.

"What kind of errand are you running today?" the raven-haired teen asked as the duo started walking in the direction of their houses.

To be honest, Suzaku was just glad that the topic was changed. "Well, you see," he began, sounding cheerful again, "C.C.-sama is running out of pizza, and Mom wants to make sure she doesn't starve, so I'm entrusted with the duty to fill her fridge with food, especially pizza." Then he fished into his pocket and pulled out a pile of Pizza Hut coupons. "Mom's been saving this for as long as I can remember. I remember asking her about that once since we rarely eat pizza. She told me it might come in handy one day, and that day is today," he said, grinning at his friend.

Lelouch couldn't help massaging his temples, clearly showing frustration. "I can't believe this, I just can't. After all these years, you guys are still serving that woman-"

"Hey!" Suzaku quickly cut him off, slight annoyance evident in his tone. "She's C.C.-sama, the Forest Spirit that has been protecting the Kururugi household for so many centuries. I understand that you don't believe in her, but can you at least show some respect?"

Lelouch brought up his hands in surrender. "Fine, whatever you say."

He didn't want to bring up his subject again, because everytime he did, their friendship was always put on the line, for Suzaku blindly defended her and Lelouch furiously insulted her. It almost resulted in a huge brawl fight once, which obviously the latter would lose, and their friendship would be long gone.

He was just glad Nunnally was there to stop them before it's too late.

A small sigh escaped his lips as Lelouch realized maybe it was useless trying to prove that she's not a spirit. It'd already been seven years, and so far he had no solid evidence of it; he might as well give up.

But, he couldn't. He had been so insistent in maintaining that she was anything but a spiritual/magical being in the past few years; it would be a huge shame if he stopped now. Moreoever, what would she think of him if he called it quits?

Suddenly, an image of said maiden popped up in his head. Even now, he found her so strange that he thought she's just a mere fragment of imagination in his head. However, Suzaku being a constant reminder of how she was very much real always told him otherwise. He slightly scowled at the image, and to make it worse, she was laughing at him. Could she even laugh? All these years, the best she did was smirk cunningly, or chuckling at his dilemma, but that was it.

Lelouch stopped in his walk, a deep scowl evident on his face as he thought of something.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku queried after realizing that his best friend no longer walked beside him.

"Suzaku," Lelouch muttered.

"Yes?"

"I'm coming with you to visit C.C.-_sama."_

The brown-haired teen looked surprised as he turned around. "What about Nunnally?"

Lelouch hesitated for a moment as he weighed his options. Finally, he uttered with a small shrug. "Don't worry, she'll understand."

* * *

"C.C.-sama, this is Suzaku Kururugi, may I come in?" shouted Suzaku from the other side of the door.

Another sound echoed almost immediately in reply. "Yes."

Suzaku turned the doorknob and opened it wide enough for both him and Lelouch to walk in.

The inside of the isolated church was exactly like what Lelouch remembered. He'd stopped coming to visit this place for sometime because of schoolwork, and now that he and Nunnally were living on their own, he didn't have that much spared time. It should also be taken into account that the walk from his home to here would be rather too long for him to handle, and he couldn't just hail a cab each time, his budget wouldn't allow that.

And as his good memories went, the owner of this place still remained the same, despite the passing years. She still looked about like a teenager, or maybe a young adult if dressed correctly, with her long green hair, this time, tied into a loose braid. Her peach-pink blossom kimono fit her figure perfectly as if she made it herself. Well, it could be a possibility since she had plenty of free time on her hand.

"C.C.-sama," Suzaku said, drawing Lelouch out of his reverie. "Here are the pizzas that you wanted us to get. All pepperoni slices, like you asked."

C.C. took the pile easily as she smiled slightly at the brown-haired teen. "Thank you, Suzaku. Oh, and give my thanks to your mother as well. I know she's saved those coupons for me."

Suzaku grinned. "Nothing can go unnoticed by you, C.C.-sama, and I'll surely deliver the message to her."

"Oh? And what a surprise we have here," C.C. commented, looking past Suzaku's shoulder at the tall raven-haired teen, who was looking at her with a neutral expression, not even a hint of a smile on his face, in spite of the years they hadn't seen each other.

"It has been awhile, Lelouch," she continued.

"It has, hasn't it, C.C.?" Lelouch replied and Suzaku quickly elbowed him in the side.

"Ouch! What's that for?" he complained.

"C.C.-_sama,"_ the brown-haired teen quickly reminded him through gritted teeth. Lelouch couldn't help rolling his eyes as he grudgingly complied. "C.C.-_sama_," he corrected himself.

C.C. chuckled at the scene in front of her. These two were actually some of the most amusing people she'd ever encountered in her life and maybe that's why, out of everyone, she actually looked forward to seeing them. Very out of character for her, she noticed.

"So, have you been doing well, Lelouch?" she asked, putting the boxes of pizza on the table next to the sofa and flopped down on the couch herself, indirectly asking the boys to do the same.

"Fine," he replied, looking at Suzaku as if wanting him to initiate the move first. He wouldn't sit next to a 'spirit' if his friend wasn't there with him. But Suzaku didn't budge.

"I'm sorry, C.C.-sama, but I've got to head home now. My father just called me and he wanted me back as soon as possible; it seemed important."

"What?" Lelouch almost shrieked, then demanded, "When was that?"

"Huh?" Suzaku looked at him, confused. Then it hit and he smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Lelouch. He called when I was buying the pizza. It must have slipped my mind to tell you beforehand."

_Slipped your mind? _Lelouch wanted to yell and punch the guy in the face though it probably would damage his own knuckles more than it would Suzaku's nose. How could he _not_ remember that? The real reason he wanted to come to this place was because he wanted to have a 'discussion' with C.C., but that didn't mean he wanted to do it alone. Without Suzaku, he wouldn't have been bothered coming. Now, out of the blue, the brown-haired boy said he had to go home?

"You know," Suzaku said quickly as he noticed his best friend's glare. "You can stay here with C.C.-sama, and I'll come back to get you later."

"That's a good idea, Suzaku." C.C. chimed in, munching on the pizza and looking extremely sly, to the point Lelouch had to involuntarily shake his head.

"No, I think I'll go wi-"

"But didn't you say you wanted to come here to talk with C.C.-sama?" asked Suzaku with a pure innocent look on his face as he cocked his head slightly to the side.

"Ara? You wanted to talk to me, boya?" C.C. smirked.

Lelouch had to shut his eyes in order to refrain himself from lashing out at his friend.

"Fine," he finally gave in, then turned to face Suzaku and said in a most tremendously menacing voice he could muster. "If you don't come back and get me before six, I'll skin you alive."

Suzaku laughed. "Just like that promise seven years ago. Don't worry, I won't get lost again."

With that, he turned and bowed to C.C. "Have a good evening, C.C.-sama."

C.C. replied with a smile and a nod.

"See you, Lelouch," he grinned, lightly punched Lelouch on the shoulder before existing.

"He turned out to be such a good gentleman," C.C. remarked when Suzaku was out of sight.

"So did I," Lelouch muttered, thinking she wouldn't hear that, but she did.

C.C. let out a small chuckle as she looked up at him. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? Or was it just an excuse to spend time with me?"

He huffed. "Not even." Looking at her fragile form, he frowned. "Let's cut to the chase. I came here to prove that you're not a spirit, have never been one and will never be one."

Upon hearing that, she put her pizza down in its box and gave him her full attention. "You're a persistent boy. I thought you'd already given up years ago, and that would be best for everyone."

"Except me," said Lelouch. "I don't believe in spirits, and especially not one who demands pizza from her worshippers."

She rolled her eyes impatiently. "Let me ask you, have you found any solid proof to prove my being?"

"No."

"Then you should have given up. No point in pursuing this anymore, boya."

Suddenly, he smirked and it surprised her enough to make her quirk an eyebrow to her hairline. "I didn't come here just to reason it with you," he said casually, then reached out his hand and grabbed hers, making her other eyebrow join its twin near her hairline. He dragged her up and off the couch then continued his words, "I came here to make _you _prove it. Follow me."

He pulled her out of the shrine with him, in spite of her mild complaints. It was still sunny and bright outside, so there was a very small chance that he might get lost - again.

* * *

"What are you planning to do, Lelouch?" C.C. asked after he led her around the forest for about five minutes.

"To make you prove that you're-"

"I heard you the first time," she interrupted, "but where are we going?"

"There's a huge, old sakura tree on the other side of the mountain. If you really are a spirit, then you should be able to make it bloom again."

"It died?"

"Not yet, but its time is coming, I can feel it." Lelouch then slowed down, his hand gripped hers tighter as he went on. "My sister and I used to go there when we're kids, and that tree always gave us comforting shades to play in. Now it's so old and infested with insects that people are talking about chopping it down."

"Chopping it down?" she repeated. "But why?"

"Because they're afraid it's going to fall one day and damage the other trees. I don't want that to happen, so if you're a spirit like you say, maybe you can help it."

C.C. looked at him for a long time, her expression saddening. "Lelouch, you…"

A loud growl behind halted the couple immediately.

Slowly and cautiously turning around, they met with a surprising sight. There, standing in front of them, was a black bear grunting and snorting. It scraped the ground with its claws several times, glaring at them before standing up tall as if it was attempting to threaten its victims - which was a pretty good accomplishment on its part since it was almost six feet tall. The bear roared loudly then dropped onto its feet, its brown eyes glared at them; anger evident but the reason was unknown – probably hunger. Another snarl escaped its bare razor-sharp teeth.

"Don't move," Lelouch whispered lowly, trying to withdraw his fear and stand still.

"You don't have to tell me twice," was her fast reply.

The bear then advanced slowly toward its target, all the time eyeing the humans as if it was afraid they're going to vanish in a blink of an eye.

"Maybe we should play dead," suggested C.C. helpfully, inhaling deeply.

Lelouch shook his head slightly, not daring to move much. "No, that's stupid."

"It works in the book."

"This is reality!"

"What do you suggest we do then, boya?"

"Well, you're the Forest Spirit, can't you do something about this?" he asked helplessly and desperately as the bear's speed was increasing.

She frowned. "I thought you didn't believe in me being a spirit."

"Well, do I have a cho-"

A deafening roar was heard as the bear charged.

At him.

"Damnit!" Lelouch cursed under his breath as he pushed C.C. out of the harm's way and ran to the opposite direction. The bear didn't waste a second as it darted after him, letting out another growl as it did so.

Lelouch knew he was as good as dead. Ever since he was a kid, he lacked stamina seriously; he couldn't even handle a short run from his house to the school, so let alone running wildly and blindly in the forest that he had little knowledge of with an angry bear at his tail.

Yes, he would die. No denying that.

Lelouch then abruptly took a turn to the right, almost tripping on his feet in the process. He dared toss a look behind, and saw that the predator didn't even slow down. Had he been in the right mind, he would have wondered how the animal didn't catch him by now considering its speed. He turned around and took another turn to the left, ignoring the unbearable pain in his lungs. If he were to die, he would die fighting.

There were many rocks, all sizes, littering around on the forest ground covered with dead leaves, he quickly bent down and picked some of them up. Then, as he made another turn, he swirled around and threw them at the charging bear. He probably missed most of the time because it showed no sign of slowing down, but as the last rock made contact with its head, it let out a howl. He'd hit it in the eye!

Lelouch smiled, thinking it'd buy him sometime as he reached another turn. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case; he'd reached a dead-end instead. In front of him was an incredibly tall cliff with a magnificent waterfall, that if he weren't in such a deadly situation, he'd sit down and admire it.

Halting to a stop abruptly, Lelouch had to wave his arms around to regain balance or he'd fall. Then, turning around, he saw the bear had also stopped. It was glaring at him with deep hatred for hurting its eye. Lelouch gulped; he was cornered, there was nothing he could do now, and he didn't even have any rocks with him to defend himself. Cautiously taking a step back, careful not to trip over the edge, Lelouch glared back at the bear, though that wouldn't help him, he felt like doing so.

_This is it, _Lelouch thought, his chest heaving up and down, _this is the end. How stupid of me to go into the forest like this, unarmed. _A tear trailed down his face. _I'm sorry Nunnally. Your onii-sama has broken the promise againto stay with you, maybe this time forever. So, forgive me, Nunnally…_

The bear was circling around him, anger and hunger in its eyes magnified ten times.

_Good-bye, Nunnally. Good-bye, Suzaku. Good-bye, every-_

"Hey!" a shout came from behind the predator.

Lelouch looked up, puzzled, and past the bear's shoulders to see C.C. standing there with two torches in her hands. "C.C.!" he gasped.

"Get away from him," she said, shoving the lit torches at the bear. Said bear growled as it stood on its rear feet again, baring its teeth at the same time. Then it charged, this time at her.

"C.C.!" Lelouch yelled, but she dodged it gracefully as if she'd had some experience. The bear turned back and lunged at her once more. She stepped sideways and jabbed its side with the torches. It let out a loud growl as fire made contact with its fur, withdrawing back. C.C. didn't waste a second as she advanced, waving the torches in front of her. "Get lost," she warned.

It didn't. Instead, it made another lunge at her, catching her by surprise. And to Lelouch's horror, it caught her arm with its claws. C.C. let out a scream, dropping the torches on the ground. The bear wasn't satisfied; seemed like it wouldn't unless the arm was torn apart. It clawed at her again but whether it was pure luck or intentional, C.C. stumbled backwards, clutching her bleeding arm until she was backed into a tree.

"Let go of her!" Lelouch screamed at the top of his lungs as he darted forward. Because the bear was occupied with its new victim, it temporarily forgot its former one - a mistake Lelouch was silently glad for. He grabbed one of the torches on the ground and poked it deep into the bear's right eye. It let out a deafening, extremely painful roar. Lelouch took into account that the torch was still burning and the bear may go blind after this incident, but that was his least concern at the moment.

The bear withdrew, made whining sounds and started thrashing around, making Lelouch skip back with the torch as to avoid being hit by one of those heavy paws. "Go!" Lelouch shouted, waving the torch wildly in the air. The bear whined one last time before escaping into the forest.

"C.C.!" he said, running toward her after making sure the bear was gone. She was leaning against a tree trunk, her kimono sleeve torn and ripped both from the bear's claws and for tearing it to make torch heads for the torches, her hair fell down, and her arm… "Oh my god…" Lelouch whispered as he stared down at the blood soaking through the fabric of what remained of the kimono sleeve.

"We have to take you to a doctor," he said quickly, reaching to pull away the bloody sleeve so he could look at the wound. "Can you walk? I should carry you."

C.C. put her other useful arm on his chest, stopping him and leaving a bloody imprint on his uniform. "No," she whispered, "Take me back to my place."

"What? No, did you even look at this wound? We're going."

"Lelouch," she said, her eyes glazed but her voice stern. "Take me back, please. It's only a scratch."

He was fairly sure a scratch did not produce that much blood but how could he resist her request at time like this? If he weren't mistaken, there was some pleading in her tired voice. Though he hesitated for a moment, he complied afterward. "Fine, but before that…" Lelouch quickly tore away at the sleeve of her good arm, using the cloth to bandage her wound in order to prevent blood loss until they got back. He couldn't see the wound in its entirety but the tears from the claws should leave bloody gashes deep enough to need stitches even if it's not life threatening.

He then picked her up and carried her bridal-style with gritted teeth. "Hang in there, C.C.," he said.

She smiled into his chest. "Ara, seems like I'm dirtying your white shirt."

"That's not a concern right now!" he added, starting to walk. It was not until he was walking for three minutes before his arms gave out and he switched the girl to his back (an inelegant feat especially with her choice of clothing being so restrictive of leg movements). It was also not until the church was in view did he realize that, though injured, she was not incapable of walking.

* * *

Searching all the cabinets in her home, he couldn't find a single packet of medicine. Not even the usual flu type. Ruffling his head in frustration, he came back to the living room where she was lying on the couch, resting and focusing on breathing slowly and calmly. "Where's all the medicine, C.C.?" he asked.

She cracked one eye open to look at him. "I don't have any."

He let out a long sigh. "Then we're heading to the hospital. There's no way you can get better with just resting. Besides, we need to get the arm examined and stitched up."

She closed her eye again and breathed deeply. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't!"

"Lelouch?"

"What?"

"Go home."

"Huh?" he inquired, sounding confused.

"If you want to repay the favor of saving you, please go home now," she replied, eyes still closed.

"But what ab-"

"Please."

He hesitated for a full minute, looked at her arm then back at her face. How could he leave a young girl alone after what happened? A young girl who just got attacked by a bear and inches away from getting her arm torn apart, that is. He then shook his head, assuming that since she's a spirit, maybe she could heal herself? But if she really were a spirit, then why did she resort to such human tactic? Why didn't she just use her magical powers to shoo the bear away?

He didn't know what to think anymore and felt even more tired with each passing second.

"Rest, C.C.," he said at last, his voice thick with emotion. Grabbing the jacket on the nearby chair, he proceeded to leave, but not before uttering the next two words without facing her.

"Thank you."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER FOUR


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

He wanted to visit her the day after the bear attack but it was simply undoable. With school in the morning and afternoon, doctor checkup for Nunnally later on, dinner and homework to cram in, he dozed off before he even finished packing away his books.

When he did manage to find time to visit Kururugi Shrine, it was the weekend and he paced the shrine's steps up and down for several long minutes pondering how he should actually visit C.C.. Should he just arrive? Wasn't it common courtesy to bring a basket of fruits and a bouquet of flowers when visiting the invalid? Should he insist they visit the hospital just to check up on her injuries? She couldn't possibly tend to them herself; she needed stitches for a wound like that.

He glanced down at his hands for a few seconds then gave a cry of frustration as he raked his fingers through his hair, making all the shrine's tourists turn to stare at him strangely. It was too late for the flowers and fruits now, he was practically at the top of the shrine stairs already and he'd figure out what to do when he arrived at the abandoned church.

He made the rest of his way up the stairs and paused at the top to take in the view. He had forgotten how busy the shrine was at the weekends – granted it wasn't packed like it was on festive holidays but there were still enough people there Lelouch could not walk twenty paces without altering his course slightly so as not to crash into another person.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku greeted, wearing his hakama and sweeping away at the floor like a typical Shinto priest-in-training and standing close enough to a young lady that one could tell they were in conversation until Lelouch showed up. "It's the weekend, what are you doing here?"

"I came to visi-" he started then stopped short when he recognised who exactly Suzaku was with. "C.C.!"

"You came to visit C.C.-sama?" asked his friend with a raised eyebrow – an action that C.C. mimicked when the boy glanced towards her.

"No! I mean, yes! But…" Lelouch stepped forward and grabbed hold of C.C.'s arm. She was out of her usual kimonos and in surprisingly normal clothes with a skirt, leggings, orange-brown jacket and her hair tucked neatly under a hat. It was such a strange yet normal sight. "What are you doing here?"

"C.C.-sama hangs around here a lot. She likes to read the wishes on the ema boards."

"But your arm…" he said, letting the rest of his sentence trail off when he noticed not even a twitch of pain crossed her face when he touched where the wound should be?

"My arm?" the girl asked, shrugging her arm out of his grasp. "It's fine."

"How can it be fine? You were clawed by a bear!" Lelouch turned to Suzaku who looked, again, appropriately horrified at the idea of C.C.'s injury.

"Are you sure you're fine, C.C.-sama?"

The woman glanced at each of them with a puzzled expression then turned, ignoring their worries, and headed towards the ema boards that formed a wall around a giant tree in the shrine. The boys watched her leave.

"I'm sure she's fine, she's a spirit," Suzaku assured, sounding much like he was trying to comfort himself rather than Lelouch. He resumed his sweeping duties again whilst Lelouch gaped at him.

"She's not a spirit, does she look like one to you?" hissed his friend.

"How can you explain everything then? Does she look any older to you than the day you first met her? Does she look remotely in pain from the claw wound? My family has served her for so many years that even if I don't believe C.C.-sama as a spirit myself, I believe in my family's beliefs."

Sometimes, Lelouch really wanted to take Suzaku by the shoulders and shake him until he started thinking more logically. He sighed loudly, crossing his arms and watching the green-haired mystery with the usual amount of suspicion in his eyes. "She could be a witch, an evil being, for all you know. Eternal youth is one of the traits for witches, is it not?"

Suzaku stopped his sweeping for a second and pointed over the ema-board-surrounded tree where their subject of discussion was presently busying herself reading all the wishes posted on the plaques hung on the boards. "A witch could not grant wishes, Lelouch. My family is not stupid."

"She grants wishes? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Suzaku immediately sealed his lips as if he just revealed a great secret. No matter how much Lelouch stared at him, waiting for a further explanation the silent treatment continued. Sighing once again, Lelouch knew it's useless trying pry anything out of Suzaku at the moment, so he left his friend and walked over to the spirit to question her directly.

* * *

"It's rude to read other people's wishes, you know."

C.C. looked up, not lifting her hand off the wish plaque she was reading. "I'm sure the wishers know very well that there's a risk their plaques will be read since they are hung up so openly."

"It's still rude," repeated Lelouch, watching as she moved onto reading another plaque. "Why are you reading them? Can you really grant wishes and why is Suzaku refusing to talk about it?"

"My, you are full of questions, Lelouch. I read them because I have nothing better to do and Suzaku's mind is his own, how should I know why he's refusing to talk to you?"

He gritted his teeth; the woman was evasive as always. "Can you really grant wishes? What are you?" Now Lelouch was fully aware that he had been repeated the latter every single time he saw her. Since he was a kid to the present.

She let go of the wishing plaque in her hand and straightened up, peering up over the edge of her cap so that she was looking at his face. "I'm C.C."

She was short, he noticed. He had shot up height-wise in the past years but it never crossed his mind that C.C. would be shorter than him. Was she always this short?

"How old are you, C.C.?" he asked, cannot help but bring up the old memories of meeting her when he was a child. She had looked so tall then.

A wry smile crossed her face and she lowered her face back to her own eye level. "Very old."

"How old?"

She hummed as she thought, eyes following a stray leaf that had been blown off the branches above them. "Older than your grandfather."

He sighed impatiently. "Can you give me a more exact date?"

"What would you do if I said several hundred years old then?" There it was, again, that teasing smile dared him to respond to her comments.

"I would say you're pulling my leg."

"Whatever you say then, boy," she hummed. The stray leaf floated off into the wind and C.C. went back to reading the wishing plaques.

* * *

The next day, Lelouch cornered Suzaku before he ran off to play football with the others on their lunchbreak. "What other kinds of beings are there that don't age, Suzaku?"

"Augh! This topic again? Lelouch, C.C.-sama is a spirit. Is it so hard for you to accept that?"

"Tell me more about her granting wishes."

Suzaku's mouth flattened. "You know I'd rather not tal-… why are you so insistent about finding out her identity anyway?"

Lelouch paused, blinking at the brown haired boy then laughed, "Insistent? Suzaku, I vowed to reveal her true nature seven years ago, remember? I'm already seven years behind in this game."

"This is a game to you, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

The image of Nunnally, wheelchair bound and eyelids forever closed, flashed through Lelouch's mind. "Of course, Suzaku. Now tell me about C.C. granting wishes."

* * *

Lelouch found her once again wandering around the ema boards, staring up at the tree as if trying to decipher how old it must be to have grown that tall and grand.

"You're not a spirit," were the first words he said to her. C.C. turned and grinned at him before relaxing back so that she was half sitting, half leaning on a sign behind her.

"Then what am I?"

Lelouch walked up to her, purple eyes flashing with determination. "Suzaku said you grant wishes, but these wishes…" he flicked at the nearest wish plaque on the ema boards, skimming the contents of it.

"Tanaka wants to pass his exams," C.C. said, telling him exactly what was written on the plaque.

"And he could pass on his own through effort or luck. The same with all these other wishes you 'granted', they could have all come true by themselves either through luck or the wisher's own efforts. There is no solid evidence that it was you who made the wish come true."

She rolled her eyes, obviously not very taken by his dramatics. "You still haven't answered my question, boya. What am I?"

"You don't age and you never leave the lands of the Kururugi Shrine," Lelouch continued, "I think you're a ghost."

Silence… then she snorted and chuckled loudly, making him send deadly glares at her. "A ghost, boy? Should I not be floating in the air and haunting someone then?"

"You do haunt. You haunt the Kururugi lands and…" he ducked under the ema boards and placed a hand on the tree they wall around, "I think this is your grave."

He turned around, catching a glimpse of her through a gap between two ema boards. Her face had turned stony emotionless and she was looking up at the tree branches again.

"And Suzaku told me that a woman went missing in this shrine many, many years ago and this tree was planted quite soon after she went missing with ema boards surrounding it as if to keep others from touching the tree. He had secretly been suspecting you to be the woman, that you died and became the spirit of the tree, thus granting wishes to those who post on your ema board walls." He snorted, the theory of a tree spirit was as preposterous as that of a forest spirit. He didn't see why Suzaku had to hide that thought in the first place since it hardly made a difference – she was still a spirit either way.

"But as I said, the wishes you 'grant' could very well come true without your interference," he caught her eyes through the gap in the boards again then his gaze drifted down to the sign post she was leaning on. "You're not a spirit, you're a ghost and they're going to be relocating this tree to another area of shrine next month. Your body will be found and then… you'll be gone because they'll remove your corpse once it's found."

Lelouch watched as C.C.'s expression went even more blank than it was (a feat that he never thought was possible since her usual mask was emotionless enough already) before it lowly changed into an amused grin. "You're rather repetitive, boy," said the woman. "I've told you many times what I am. I'm C.C. And I believe that we will have to wait till they relocate the tree to find out whether your theory is matching or not, right?"

A gust of wind blew by and Lelouch was quickly distracted by the sudden onslaught of hundreds of wishing plaques clacking loudly against each other with himself being in the center of all the noise. When he looked back through the gap of the boards again, C.C. was gone.

* * *

The entire shrine was taped off for the tree relocation, Lelouch, being neither a Kururugi nor one of the relocation team, sat on the stairs to the shrine until he was convinced his rear end was numb. When Suzaku ducked under the tape to tell him the results, Lelouch could already read it in his face.

"There was no body, was there?" asked Lelouch, scraping his nails across his own scalp in frustration when Suzaku confirmed his thoughts. He could already imagine the smirk that will appear on C.C.'s face the next time they meet.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER FIVE


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Tossing and turning restlessly in his bed, Lelouch growled lowly with frustration as sleep wasn't welcoming him as always. Glancing sideways, he saw it was almost midnight and still his eyelids were just too stubborn to close. How was he going to cope with another long, hard day at Ashford if he barely caught any sleep?

Turning one last time so that he was facing the wall, Lelouch shut his eyes tightly and forced sleep to come to no avail. "What's wrong with me today?" he said at last through gritted teeth, tossing the blanket away and sitting up. Running his hand through his soft, raven locks, he couldn't help heaving a small sigh.

Getting out of his bed, Lelouch slowly and tiredly dragged his feet toward the grand window and lifted up the curtains slightly. Outside, the full moon was shining brightly that had it not been for his white-milk curtains, lights would be spreading all over his small yet tidy room. Now, staring up at the moon with an unexplainable tranquillity, Lelouch finally understood the reason for his sleeplessness.

It was no other than the event that happened this very afternoon when they relocated the ancient tree from its spot.

There was no corpse, no skeleton, no nothing to prove that something had been buried there. Just dusty, muddy, damp ground that was home to insects. After the construction team had done their part and the tape was lifted, Lelouch dashed over to do a quick, careful check to see if there were any traces of a body buried down there. To his great disappointment, nothing came up. Looking at the hole in ground left by the tree removal, he was sure that even if a whole expert investigation team showed up, they wouldn't be able to find anything either.

The hardest problem now was to face _her. _After his confident theories that he laid out to her yesterday, and his overly assured attitude that he displayed, how would he explain himself the next time he saw her?

_Maybe I should just avoid her from now on, _Lelouch thought. _It wasn't not like she can leave the shrine grounds to hunt me, from what I've observed. _Then he shook his head vigorously. _No! That would be cowardice. Why should I hide myself? This is a game, losing only once doesn't matter; it means I just learned from my mistake. Just like chess – well, not like I have ever lost at chess before… _He mused, feeling proud of himself, then got the main thought back on tracks again. _I'll see her, I won't hide._

Just before he let go of the curtain to get back to bed, this time determined to get some sleep, something caught his eyes. Just over the small mountain peaks, gold light illuminated the trees nearby in a magical way. At first, Lelouch thought it were fireflies' work, but after a closer, squinting look he saw that it wasn't done by nature. It was electricity and it was coming from the only one place over those mountains - the Kururugi Shrine.

"They're still awake?" whispered Lelouch as he leaned in closer to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He couldn't remember Suzaku mentioning anything about staying up so late for anything so why were the lights still on? "What are they doing at this hour? Well, that's none of my business; I'll go find out tomorrow."

Mind saying that but feet doing a complete different thing. Before he was even aware of what was happening, his hands reached over to grab a change of clothes and a black coat hanging neatly from a hanger in his organized closet and feet trailed toward the door. Quickly changing out of his sleeping attire and shoving his shoes on, Lelouch left the room, mind still trying to comprehend his strange actions.

* * *

Using the torch as the main light to lead him to the shrine safely, Lelouch still didn't get why he suddenly left his comfortable bedroom to go into the forest in the middle of the night. To make it worse, to see someone he certainly didn't wish to see at the moment.

Even if he wanted to halt his feet, his mind had no power over them. It's like that place over the mountains was something extremely, magically captivating and he was being drawn to it unresistingly.

Now, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the shrine, he realized it was too late to turn back now. What good would that do? Not to mention the walk here was exhausting enough for him already and he doubt he could summon the energy to make his way back without some sort of rest beforehand. Then, with firm determination Lelouch stepped up the steps and didn't stop until he reached the top.

To be honest, he was expecting to find no one there. The Kururugi family might have left the lights on to shoo away those wild, dangerous animals. That didn't mean anybody had to be out there. So, of course it quite surprised him to find C.C. there, sitting near the empty spot where the tree had once been and hands touching the damp ground as if she's caressing the earth. The hole that was left there that afternoon had been filled with a nice thick layer of earth, packed tightly so that it'll ready for paving over tomorrow morning.

The ema board was moved to different place. Now, it was put slightly next to the door leading to the main shrine building, and Lelouch was sure they're going to move it again, to some place more convenient for worshippers.

"There was nothing there," Lelouch called out softly, breaking the quietness that was interrupted only by the occasional sounds of crickets.

Startled, C.C. whipped her head up and stared at the figure standing on the top of the stairs. She was clad in her usual loose kimono with long hair casually wound up in a bun, leaving out some lime green strands here and there. In the illumination of the torch's light, her face seemed so surreal, especially those still and wide golden eyes staring straight at him.

"Lelouch, what are you doing here?" she asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

He shrugged while his feet carried him closer to her. "I saw the lights on and figured something must still be happening," he answered truthfully.

"Weren't you afraid some bears were going to jump you again?"

"Not if I have this torch with me," he replied, waving said torch as if to prove its effectiveness against an untamed creature. "Besides, they wouldn't attack this brightly lit shrine."

She chuckled. "Right."

Now that he was quite close to where she was sitting, Lelouch stole a glance at the ground underneath her hand, and frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked, nodded toward the spot.

C.C. lowered her gaze and started touching the earth again – or more likely stroking as if it were an adorable, spoiled cat. She then looked up and said in a clear voice, "There wasn't anything, was it?"

He flinched. "What?"

"What you said earlier, there wasn't anything here."

He looked down at the ground and grew uncomfortable at her statement. Finally, he nodded in defeat. "No, they didn't find anything…" he trailed off, unable to say anymore. It was already too embarrassing for him and he didn't want to admit that maybe, just _maybe, _she was a spirit after all.

A chuckle escaped her thin, nicely-shaped lips as she patted the earth one last time before standing up. "So your so-called theories were wrong." – Lelouch winced at the bull's eye comment- "I'm not some dead girl that was buried here ages ago."

"But still," he blurted out, still standing firm by his belief. "I don't believe you're a spirit."

C.C. already left the spot that she had been sitting at and was walking past him toward the forest when she heard that comment. Only turning her head slightly around, she rolled her eyes. "It's too late for that, boya, maybe we can do this tomorrow morning when you might be able to come up with more convincing theories or excuses," she said and that teasing, daring smile once again split her face.

The disappointment at this evening's event combined with her mocking him was like the final straw. The feeling was like a match ready to light up a dangerous explosive bomb inside him. And the bomb exploded.

"Not so fast," he growled as one hand reached out and grabbed her arm. What happened next surprised even him.

Probably because of all the anger and frustration finally being let out that Lelouch's pull on her was a bit too strong than expected. In fact, he yanked her back faster and more forceful that as she tumbled backwards she tripped on her own wooden sandals. A gasp escaped her as she fell... right into him.

The silence increased, along with the crickets sounds, as Lelouch stood with a completely puzzled look plastered all over his face, and with a fragile and pale girl in his arms.

How weird it was that the first thing he noticed was her height. She _was _indeed shorter than him. With the way they stood together, she could barely reach his neck. Was she always this short? But she had looked so tall then. Well, that was seven years ago. People changed, physically and mentally.

The next thing he became aware of was how small she was. Her frame was just like Nunnally's. Fragile, slim, and small-boned. Her skinny arms fit neatly in his grips. And her hair, it smelled so good as if she'd washed it with jasmines and gardenia. Such a captivating scent.

And suddenly, this game that he'd been pursuing for seven years seemed so meaningless now. Staring down at the girl in his arms, he'd come to realize that regardless of her true identity, she still looked like a human with flesh and a very sweet scent.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her slightly away so he could look at her face. A gasp stopped him immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Why is it that each time we meet, one of us tends to get hurt?" she sighed wearily then answered, "My ankle." Her grip on the front of his white shirt tightened as pain flowed in. "I think I've sprained it."

"Let me see." Lelouch then bent down and examined it. A frown crossed his face, but also came relief as he noticed the wound wasn't fatal at all. "It's nothing big," he said, standing up to face her. "Just some bandages and pain-killer and you'll be fine."

C.C. turned slightly to take in the sight of her poor ankle with a frown of her own. Then she looked up at him. "Well, there's nothing to worry about now. You can go home, Lelouch."

"As if," he snorted. Without warning, he grabbed her free arm and put it over his head as his own arm shot out to wrap around her thin waist.

"What are you doing?" she almost shrieked in surprise. Note, she hardly shrieked.

"We've got to tend to that. Let's get you back home to your church," was Lelouch's answer as he half-dragged her toward the forest despite her rising complaints.

"I'm fine, I can-"

"No, C.C. I'll see through this."

She stopped, and as Lelouch thought she'd run out of arguments she said. "You want to see how I take care of that myself, correct?"

No need to deny this. "Yes."

A sigh escaped her lips. "Whatever suits you, Lelouch." And Lelouch smirked triumphantly.

* * *

Inside the church with warm, yellow lights that filled the place, Lelouch gently set her on the couch full of cushions. Then he went to the back toward the medication cabinet to look for bandages and sorts.

After five minutes, he came back with a simple roll of white bandages. "You don't have pain-killers either, do you?" he asked dryly while sitting down at her feet to tend to them, already knowing the answer to it.

She shook her head. "No."

C.C. then watched as Lelouch used the scissors to cut a lengthy strip of bandages. Setting the scissors aside, he scooted in closer to her and wrapped said bandages around her sprained, slightly swollen ankle, to which she let out another painful gasp.

"It's okay," he murmured, reaching out for the roll and once again cutting it, redoing the wrapping process.

Another five minutes passed and they were done. "All finished," announced Lelouch proudly.

C.C. bent down to touch her ankle. It didn't feel as bad as it did earlier. "This is kind of unnecessary," she said, sighing. "I can do this myself, you know."

"Well, since I'm considering you _not_ a spirit, I'm tending to treat you like any other injured person."

She then looked sideways at him, her golden eyes bore deep into his violet ones. "What a night, don't you think? I suggest you get some rest."

"You're right," Lelouch said as a yawn escaped his lips. He gave his body a good stretch before sliding lower on the couch and C.C. couldn't help sighing with relief. However, it stopped short as she saw him make himself comfortable with a thick blanket that he had once slept on as a kid when she kept him as a 'prisoner' here, and she couldn't help frowning. "I didn't invite you to sleep-over," she said.

"I can't leave a wounded maiden by herself."

"I'm not-" she bit her lip, then waved her hand. "Fine, do as you wish."

Lelouch adjusted the pillow and as soon as his head hit it, an irresistible sleepiness washed over him strongly, causing his eyelids to almost close had he not fought it. "Wow," he murmured lazily. "I'm more tired than I thought."

C.C. stared down at the raven-haired teen amusingly, then she got up and limped over to her bed in the corner of the room before, too, lay down. "Sleep well, boy," she whispered.

As much as Lelouch tried to fight back the rushing and overwhelming sleepiness in an effort to witness the 'healing' process that he suspected this girl had gone through the last time, he couldn't resist the heavy eyelids that screamed at him to not overwork them any longer, and grudgingly he complied with their mere request. Closing his eyes, the events flashed through his mind one last time before Lelouch fell into deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Sorry, Nunnally," he said apologetically while trying to fix the collar of his uniform. "I-" he quickly switched the phone to the left side so that his other side of the collar could be adjusted. "I'm sorry," he repeated hastily. "I went to the shrine early in the morning and didn't want to wake you… Yes, I know I was lucky Sayoko-san took you to school today instead of me. And yes, I'm in uniform and heading to school right now…. I know, it won't happen again," he promised.

When Lelouch hung up the phone, he leaned back against one side of the school gate's pole as one hand shoved the phone in his pocket and remained there. His other hand went up to touch his forehead; a thinking gesture. How could he have done that? How could he have left Nunnally all by herself at night without saying anything? He could've just recorded the message and set it to play in the morning when he was sure she was awake. Why didn't he think of that? More importantly, why didn't he think of Nunnally whenever C.C. was involved?

Tilting his head backwards, letting it touch the pole behind, Lelouch could care less that school was about to start and that this would be his first tardy ever. Right now, his mind was too occupied for anything school-related. He didn't want to deal with the lessons, with the teachers, with the gossips of students. Right now, he wanted quiet, silence to think, to sort out his tangled thoughts. Slowly, Lelouch closed his eyes, and the bell rang.

"Surprise, surprise."

Snapping his eyes open, Lelouch whipped his head toward the sound of the familiar voice. "Suzaku!" he said, puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

His best friend regarded him with a curious yet serious look. "The question is, what are _you_ doing outside of school?"

True, he was not past the school gates yet so technically not in school yet. Lelouch shook his head. "I asked you first."

"Well, I have an excuse. My dad needed me to run him an errand." Then he shoved the excuse note that was written in neat hand-writing in front of Lelouch's nose. "What's yours?" he inquired.

"None," he replied casually - typical Lelouch. He then turned away from Suzaku. "Go to class. You don't have to make any excuses for me," he said and walked away, but Suzaku caught hold of his arm and pulled him back slightly.

"Wait, you're skipping school?" he queried, utter astonishment filled his voice.

"Not in the mood to study right now."

"I don't understand," he frowned. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I saw you last night at the shrine with C.C.-sama." And that stopped Lelouch dead in his tracks.

Slowly turning around, Lelouch glanced at Suzaku. A mild frightened look crossed the former's face. "You saw?" he asked.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep and saw the lights were on. But why did you come to the shrine so late at night? It must have been already near midnight when you left your apartment. Did something happen? By the time I got my shoes on, both of you had left and I had to turn off the lights…"

All of sudden, Lelouch leaped forward and grabbed Suzaku by his free arm and pulled him to the side. A small, surprised gasp escaped the brown-haired teen's lips at his friend's action.

"Listen," Lelouch said lowly as if afraid someone might eavesdrop. "Do _not_ say anything to Nunnally. She… she doesn't know I left the house at night-"

"You left Nunnally alone at night?" shrieked Suzaku, and Lelouch had to clamp his own hand over his mouth.

"Sshh! Look, I don't know what I was thinking. It was wrong, it was stupid; something may have happened to her and I'd blame myself for the rest of my days. But it's in the past now, so can you please not mention anything to Nunnally?"

As a response, Suzaku crossed his arms over his chest, looking intimidating all of a sudden. His warm green eyes hardened as he stared at Lelouch. "Unless you promise to _never_ do this again._ Never_ to leave Nunnally alone."

Lelouch took in a deep breath. "I promise," he said firmly.

Suzaku's green eyes studied his best friend as if to detect lies for a good full minute before their softness returned. "Good, now let's get back to school."

"No," Lelouch said, shaking his head. "I got to take care of something."

"What is it?"

Lifting his bright violet orbs to look into Suzaku's emerald ones once again, he fumbled for a answer. How should he answer? His thoughts? His memories? His feelings of the whole thing?

Finally he answered miserably, "My heart."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER SIX


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

When Suzaku had wordlessly left him alone and went on ahead to class, Lelouch felt like butting his head against the nearest lamppost several times. What made him answer with such… such…a cheesy and melodramatic line? And should he be comforted or worried that Suzaku accepted said line so easily?

'My heart'? Lelouch would have snorted had he not chose the more sensible approach of hefting his schoolbag higher up his shoulder and started making his way away from the school.

A wave of his hand alongside some cash got him a taxi to the local library though the driver was rather hesitant about transporting around a student who was obviously skipping class.

He told Suzaku he was taking care of something but in actuality, he just needed time and space to think. He secured himself a prime spot near the window of the library before piling the desk to the brim with books, effectively discouraging anybody from wanting to take a seat at the table. He sighed, picked up the nearest book and sat down. "May as well make a start," he grumbled.

It didn't take very long for Lelouch to figure out what type of books were useless to him, what contained some potential information and what would need a lot more diving into via references and manuals. Vampires, spirits, fairies, homeless beggars, witches, ghosts, werewolves etc, he touched upon them all in reading but none of them seem to fit C.C.'s description.

"What is she?" he muttered in a bored tone as he flicked through the pages of his twelfth book on the supernatural. Honestly, being in a library for more than approximately one hour while burying one's nose in not-so-much-interesting books could have driven any genius to boredom. Scanning the pages, he pondered what kind of being eats pizza all day long and heals so quickly? What kind of beings don't age and live in forgotten churches in the middle of a forest?

He slumped his head down on the pages of the fourteenth book, hands woven in his hair and breathing slowly. This was all getting tedious and overboard even for somebody as persistent as himself. What exactly was he doing here - wasting his time researching about C.C.'s identity? What good does it do him to know? Why was it so infuriating not to know the answers to all these questions concerning her?

He lifted his head and peered out the window, watching people strolling by and a few birds diving down to hop idly on the ground before fluttering back up. Very soon, his mind drifted back into the endless cycle of questions in his mind and he didn't even pay much attention to what his eyes saw anymore.

_"C.C.-sama is very respectable and you can trust her. She is the Spirit of the Forest. She wouldn't hurt you as long as you respect the forest."_

_"How can it be fine? You were clawed by a bear!"_

_"I don't believe you're a spirit."_

_"You don't age and you never leave the lands of the Kururugi Shrine. I think you're a ghost."_

_"What would to do if I said several hundred years old then?"_

He blinked, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he stopped the whirling vortex of questions that his memories conjured. When he looked up and outside again, he saw a large, yellow plushie and pizza boxes balanced perfectly like a professional waiter balancing a tea set in a silver tray. Without thinking or pausing to think, he grabbed his belongings, crammed several books at random into his schoolbag and walked out the door.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" he gasped, finally caught up with her and bracing himself against a lamppost

She stopped her steps, turned her head back slightly so he could see one of her golden eyes. "Afternoon to you too, boy, and that question should be mine – what are _you_ doing here? Should you not be at school?"

"I took the day off," he replied snippily, straightening and walking over to her side.

"I'm old, Lelouch, but I'm not that old to have lost my marbles. Students don't take days off school whenever they feel like it," she smirked and walked on, her pizza box's lid loose and tapping lightly on the cardboard bottom with each step she took. Apparently, she couldn't contain her pizza craving any longer and had started munching on the slices while she walked.

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? Why are you out of the Kururugi lands?" asked the boy as he followed after her.

"Why shouldn't I be here? A girl must go to Pizza Hut personally if she was to exchange her coupons for a plushie, yes?" She adjusted her new plushie so that it sat higher up on her hip like a mother carrying a toddler.

"Don't you have one of these already?" He eyed the doll critically fairly certain he saw one exactly the same as this in her church before.

"Cheese-kun plushie, yes, but not of this size." She turned sharply, going down another street and leaving Lelouch gawking at her. "Tired already, boy?"

"No but… why are you walking that way? The shrine is this way."

She shrugged and didn't answer him, just continued her merry way, nibbled on her pizza and occasionally lifting her head to spy a passing bird, bug or plane.

Sighing loud enough for her to hear, he followed. "What are you, C.C.?"

"Seriously boy, do I really have to answer that?"

"Yes, I know. You're C.C.. Don't remind me."

* * *

They walked for what seem like ages with Lelouch only losing sight of her twice but, strangely, she waited for him. He never expected her to and, each time, he expected her to continue on her merry way but she didn't. She stood at whatever location she noticed he wasn't following anymore and lips drawing into a smirk when he finally spotted her.

"You look like you don't know your way around," she said the first time he lost and caught up to her. "You should go out more often, boy, and learn your way around the neighbourhood."

He smirked back at her and smoothly replied that this was not his neighbourhood and neither was it hers.

The second time he caught up, she stared at him quizzically and asked, "Why are you following me, Lelouch?"

"Can I not?" replied Lelouch, hands on his knees as he was starting to tire. "Why are you taking such an elaborately long way home?"

"Can I not?"

"Touche."

C.C. smirked then. Having finished eating her pizza, she threw the empty box away in the nearest trashcan before headed into a nearby park which had spectacular views of parts of the town because the park was built on higher ground.

They were bombarded by the sounds of toddlers and small children wailing and playing in the playground and momentarily distracted by the sight of a child crashing into another on the slides, Lelouch lost sight of C.C. for the third time that day.

When he found her again, she was at the edge of the park with her new Cheese-kun still held on her hip. There was a breeze and it tug on the ends of her hair, rolled loose leaves and flower petals across the floor in spiral waltzes alongside an empty bag of potato chips and made Lelouch squint so as to lessen the feeling of the air scraping across his eyeballs.

C.C. was hunched over one of those clunky metal tourist telescopes by the railing, staring intently at a specific direction. "Aa, you caught up," she said, not looking up from the telescope.

"What are you looking at?"

"Trees."

"Why?"

"Why not? They're all probably as old as I am and thus could probably be the only friends who stay with me for so long."

He stepped up behind her, catching tendrils of her hair in his hands and holding them back so that the wind will stop whipping them across her face as she continued her viewing. After what seem like forever, he licked his lips and asked. "Tell me the truth, C.C.. What are you?"

She chuckled, eyes still focused on the telescope. "You know my answer to that so why do you insist on asking it? Why, boy? Why are you so insistent on finding out about my identity?"

"I don't know."

"Is it because of your sister?"

He froze, fingers clenching her hair tight enough for her to finally lift her head and stare back at him with those all knowing golden eyes of hers. "Suzaku told me about your sister," she explained, guessing the question in his mind. "Is that why, boy? Is that why you want to know my identity so much? To know if I am really somebody or something that could heal your sister? To see if I really am some grand and gracious forest spirit like the Kururugi family think I am?"

Was that why? Really? Was that why he wanted to know about C.C. so badly? It was for Nunnally all along? Was it not just because of his pride – his unwillingness to lose in this game?

"Did I hit the nail on the head?" she said, smirking again before slowly turning back to the telescope. "I am C.C., Lelouch. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Can you grant wishes?"

"I wonder…"

He gritted his teeth and pulled at her hair lightly. "Can you?" he asked. For Nunnally. This was for Nunnally, right?

"And if I can, what would you wish for?"

"I wish for Nunnally to see and walk again."

"And then once that wish is granted, you'll skip away just like everyone and forget about the person who gave you your wish," she snorted then gasped as he suddenly pulled at her hair sharply, forcing her to turn around and glare at him but she never got around to that.

He had suddenly leant right in and before she could even harden her eyes into a glare, his lips on hers and she could only stare at his closed eyes in surprise. One of his hands were still grasping her hair and the other was on the railing behind her, holding the metal bar so tight that his knuckles turned white, as he kept his lips on hers. Neither one of them moved and their lips simply sat on each other dryly, nobody moved to pull back or to deepen the kiss.

When he finally did pull back, the first thing out of his mouth was "I wish for Nunnally to see and walk again." He stared at her intently. "Can you grant that wish, C.C.?"

She blinked away her surprise then smiled a smile that hint so many things yet nothing – so much like herself, "I'll consider it, Lelouch."

* * *

"Why did I kiss her?" he said aloud to himself later on in the privacy of his own bedroom. He was attempting to catch up on all the notes he missed from class that day. "Have I gone mad? Was it really for Nunnally?"

Was what really for Nunnally? Kissing C.C.? Trying to find the truth about C.C.? Yet why did he felt like there was some error in that way of thinking and that part of him was doing all these persistent and silly things for a much more selfish reason?

"Onii-sama!" Nunnally's voice shouted from outside his door.

"Nunnally?"

"Onii-sama… can you…" she started hesistantly before he opened his door and knelt in front of her wheelchair. "I need help with my school project. I can't… read this map."

"They gave you a map to read? With no Braille?" he asked, scandalized, annoyed and angry all at the same time as he reached for the map and flicked it open.

"No, no, they did give me one but I wanted to research some more for it and the other maps don't have Braille."

Lelouch laughed at her sister's defensive answer then patted her head. "Sure, of course. Let's have a look here…"

He blinked at the map – a street map to be accurate – then shifted his gaze back to his sister. "Nunnally, I have a bit of homework I need to finish first. Leave me the map and I'll come over with it later on?"

Puzzled but not questioning him, Nunnally complied and wheeled away. Once Lelouch was sure she was securely back in her room, he closed his door, threw the map on his desk and scrutinized it with the urgency and mind of a general being attacked by the enemy in all directions.

_"What are you looking at?"_

_"Trees."_

Within in seconds, he was armed with a pencil and ruler, circling and drawing lines all over the street map like it was his own homework and not that of Nunnally's. "The library, Pizza Hut, this corner, the park, the traffic lights here, the shrine, the… forest," he muttered as he circled them all.

_"You look like you don't know your way around. You should go out more often, boy, and learn your way around the neighbourhood."_

When he finished, the map was so riddled with pencil marks and calculations that it could no longer be returned to whoever his sister borrowed it from but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Lelouch was slumped on his chair, his head back and one of his hands covered his eyes as he laughed.

"You cannot go further than twenty minutes walk from the perimeter of the forest. C.C., you cannot go further than twenty minutes. What does that tell me? Are you really the spirit of the forest after all?"

* * *

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

**A Midsummer Night's Dream:** Everybody loves an overdramatic Lelouch. Who doesn't? Not us. Thanks for the reviews!

**fra:** We would tell you the answer to your question but that would be giving away the story, yes? Thanks for the review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

It felt like Déjà vu.

Waking up early, tossing in bed, unable to catch a good night's sleep, trillions of thoughts running wildly in his head that it was a wonder it hadn't exploded yet, Lelouch felt like this was a repetition of the night before.

About fifteen minutes before the alarm clock went off, Lelouch had already woken up and got dressed then went down to the kitchen with the riddled map held tightly in his hand.

He fixed himself a nice breakfast of French toast and a cup of creamed coffee then sat down at the table, on which he placed the map in the process.

"Really, what will Nunnally say when she realizes I've written all over her borrowed map?" he murmured.

Lelouch withdrew a ball-point pen from the pen-holder located next to him and started scribbling on it again, peering carefully at the spots he'd covered and contemplated what it must have meant.

"So she can't go further than twenty minutes walk from the perimeter of the forest," he was saying, re-lining the streets to the point the inks were starting to seep through the paper but he could care less about the mess; it was already a horrid mess to begin with anyway.

"Hm," he said, finally dropping his pen and crossing his arms over his chest, a thoughtful look dominated his face. Glancing out at the window with his back leaning against the chair, slightly rocking it back and forth, he made up his mind. Draining the last drop of coffee, he pushed the chair back, swept the dish and cup in his hands and walked toward the sink to start the process of washing them. When he was done with his chore, he grabbed the recorder on the dining table and taped his speech addressed to Nunnally, basically saying that he had to leave early because there were some unfinished duties at school from yesterday and that he would help her with the map once he got back in the afternoon, then put it in a place that the recorder was supposed to go whenever it was being used. He left with his school bag slung over his shoulder, certain that Sayoko would be here in a few minutes to tend to Nunnally and make her breakfast.

* * *

"Morning, C.C.," Lelouch called out while rapping his knuckles on the church door.

The door crept open slightly and cautiously before out poked a head of a very familiar woman with long hair tied into a loose braid that draped over her left shoulder. She frowned suspiciously at him. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Not even a formal greeting? Geez," he said, shaking his head. Without warning, he pushed the door wide open and stepped into the church, past a puzzled C.C. "I've decided to pay you a visit before I'm off to school today."

"Why?" she asked slowly as she closed the door behind them.

He spun around on his heels, grinning at her - a gesture that he rarely did to anyone beside Nunnally. So seeing him like this could only increase her suspicion as her frown deepened.

"Because," he began, "You told me you love trees."

"Okay…?"

"And I've just discovered a place that has more than thousand of different kinds of trees. All sorts. From youngest to oldest. Various colors and breedings, you'd surely love it."

She wrinkled her forehead and leaned against the closed door. "Funny that you've _just _discovered it now when you've lived in this town forever."

"Hey," he said, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture, "You're the one that told me to explore the neighborhood more and I did." He flashed her a smile. "So what do you say?"

"Hm, not right now. I need to go buy pizza."

"Perfect then. Besides, it's not like you have a choice."

Her eyebrows shot high up to the hairline at that particular comment.

* * *

"I told you I don't want to go to this tree place!" she pressed, all the while trying to break free of his grasp. But a woman against a man, no matter how old she was, the outcome of the struggle was just too obvious.

"You can buy it later. The pizza isn't going anywhere, you know," he said while pulling her along in spite of her kicking and complaints.

Realizing that this wasn't furthering her plan of getting away, she heaved a sigh and gave up. "Where is this special place anyway?" she inquired testily.

Lelouch tossed her a knowing look. "Within walking distance, just beyond the borders of the park."

Was it just him or did she pale at his answer?

"That's quite far," she remarked, her voice low. "I didn't know you've had the stamina for that."

"Ha, funny," he mumbled. Suddenly, she pulled back and he almost stumbled backward.

"I don't want to go," she said firmly, holding his gaze fiercely. "I want to go home."

"Why's that?" he challenged. "Didn't you say you love tress because they may be as old as you are? Well, this place has the oldest trees ever existed."

C.C. bit her lip; she knew she had said a tad bit too much yesterday at the park. She knew walking and talking with him could only bring troubles. "I'm not interested anymore," she replied, trying her best to sound utterly bored at the idea of going to see just floras.

"Nonsense! Just give it a try and you will like it. Personally, I haven't been there myself so this may be a good experience." He tugged at her hand, pulling her forward again but she held her ground. More tug and pull and unintelligent whispers coming from both parties and she finally had to trot along.

"Now, that's more like it," he said, smirking at her who looked about to jump and rip his head off at any moment's notice.

When they reached an intersection and had to wait for the traffic light for pedestrians crossing, C.C. realized she had a trick up her sleeves to get out of this. _Why didn't I think of this earlier?_

She dug her long, well-cared-for and pointed nails deep into his flesh.

Lelouch flinched and was ready to let go. She smirked triumphantly in that split second; she would make a dash for it as soon as his grip came loose. But he didn't budge. His hold on her was as tight as it had ever been.

Frowning irritably, she dug deeper and deeper. It gave her a nasty feeling knowing that her nails had made it through his first layer of skin and were working to drill into the next one. Still, she dug, giving it no rest.

He never let go. The traffic light still flashed red.

_Let go, you stubborn boy! _she thought and gave it a final strong press. Then, she felt it. A warm fluid ran past her fingers into the palm of her hand. Looking down, she saw it was blood. Drops of blood had been dripping onto the sidewalk into a small pool.

C.C. felt like she was going to be sick. Indeed, she felt light-headed.

The light flashed green and Lelouch pulled her forward.

When they made it to the other side, she dared look up at his face but not down at their joined hands. Long dark bangs were covering half of his upper face, thus shielding away all the expressions of his. So, she had no idea what he must be feeling right now. Frustrated like her, hurt, angry or nothing at all?

They kept walking forward in silence. Around them, people were filing around. Some students in uniform like Lelouch's were running toward the school's direction - strange that none of them seemed to recognize him - some officers were hurrying toward their work places. A patrol car drove leisurely by on the road. Bikers, runners and walkers filled the spaces around the couple.

Just twelve more feet and they would soon reach the borders of the park. Then they would be out and off to that place he's dying to take her to.

"Why are you doing this, Lelouch?" asked C.C. quietly, her head slightly bent down, inviting the bangs to droop down.

"Because I want you to see this place," his voice came out a ragged whisper. Ahh, so he _was_ hurt dearly after all.

"That's a lie. You just want to see the result of this so-called game. To see what I truly am."

He didn't say anything.

"Stop it already, Lelouch. There's no point in pursuing this anymore." Then she realized the blood had never stopped its dripping. "You're hurt," she said slowly, pulling him to a halt, but he kept going.

"We're almost there, C.C." he said softly, not looking back or down at his injured hand. He just kept walking like there's no tomorrow.

Looking past his shoulders, she saw the twelve feet had reduced to merely five. They were close to the borders, very close.

"Lelouch… stop," she whispered. "I'm really tired, so can we just—"

His pull on her hardened. "You can rest once we go past that border."

Three feet, two, one…

Winds breezed by, sending dead leaves scattering around. The sakura trees lining the sidewalk were making a sound in the breeze as if trying to foretell her something. Something that wouldn't be so pleasant.

A gasp quickly escaped Lelouch's lips as he suddenly crumbled onto the ground, hands clapped around his ears. His face clearly showed agony.

"Ah! What's this noise?" he asked C.C., who appeared unaffected.

She looked down at him, expressionless.

He cracked one eye open and peered at her, struggling to speak. "Don't you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Before he could answer, the agony on his face increased and he shut his eyes tightly, letting out a scream.

"Stop it…"

C.C. bent down and tilted his face up to level with hers. Her eyes were emotionless and she drew in closer. "Sorry that it has to end like this, Lelouch…" She sealed his lips with hers.

Immediately, the screeching, high-pitched frequency stopped and he was knocked by an unseen force but he was sure it's just his brain ceased working. Then, the hard ground appeared closer as he made contact with it. The last thing he saw was a pair of golden eyes looking at him. They were so dolorous.

* * *

When Lelouch came to, he was lying in a bed with an unfamiliar ceiling above.

"Where am I?" he whispered. As an answer, the door to the room opened and the person who stepped in was none other than his best friend, Suzaku.

"Ah! You're awake," he exclaimed, rushing to the bedside.

"Where am I?" repeated Lelouch.

"The hospital."

"Hospital? What am I doing at a hospital?"

Suzaku looked perplexed. "You mean you don't remember? You were almost hit by a car though the impact sort of knocked you unconscious."

Lelouch could only stare with wide eyes as if Suzaku had gone crazy, but the latter simply continued. "There was a lot of blood on you, but the doctor said no damages have been done, so you're safe. But what were you doing at the borders of the park anyway?"

_Blood? I had blood on me? And I've been in an accident? What in the world has happened?_

"Suzaku, tell me about the blood," Lelouch said, avoiding the question posted, "Like where was it on me?"

"Hm, okay," Suzaku gave him a curious look, "It was on your arms and shirt and cheeks. The police thought you got scratched trying to avoid the car, but found no injuries on you, except," he pointed toward Lelouch's bandaged right hand, "for that hand. So, they came to believe that you hurt your hand badly while trying to dodge the car, and somehow," he scratched the back of his neck, "you got blood all over you." Then, he quickly added. "Don't worry, the injury wasn't major. And the police are still looking for whoever has hit you."

_They won't find them, _Lelouch wanted to scream, _because there was never an accident. The blood was just—_

His eyes widened and he shot up in bed, an action he soon regretted, for it sent a wave of dizziness through his head. "C.C.," he managed to say. "Where's C.C.?"

"You mean C.C.-_sama,_" Suzaku corrected, "You owe her a thanks, by the way, since she's the one that saw you lying there on the street. Had she not walked that path, you wouldn't be sitting here by now."

Lelouch dug his nails of his injury-free hand into the white sheets, teeth chattering. "I have to see her."

"Not now, you need to rest. Besides…"

"What?"

"She said she has to do some spiritual rituals or something and that she mustn't be bothered at all, so I'm afraid I can't let you go see her for a while."

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER EIGHT**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

* * *

When C.C. opened the door, she was fully expecting to see an angry raven-haired teen standing on the other side glaring with enough ferocity to kill an army. She must commend him for braving the forest in the middle of pouring rain though; she knew all too well that the paths to her church became a vile muddy soup in this weather.

"What do you want now, boy?" the words tumbled out of her mouth the second she opened the door only to be met by a sheepish Suzaku instead of his friend. She gaped for two whole seconds before closing her mouth shut, her question was still valid even if her guest wasn't who she thought he was.

"C.C.-sama, can I… come in?" Suzaku asked hesitantly whilst trying to not be too obvious in his attempt to spy at the contents of her room past her shoulder. "I'm not bothering you in the middle of a ritual, am I?"

She shook her head, opened her door wider and stepped aside, giving Suzaku the go ahead to get himself out of the rain. "What brought you here today, Suzaku? Should I fetch you a towel? Leave the umbrella on the sta—"

"Wait a minute, C.C.-sama," interrupted Suzaku as he suddenly fished out his cell phone from his pocket and offered it to her. "There, just press call now."

She stared at the phone and then at Suzaku. "You came all the way here just to… why are you letting him orde-"

"He's stuck in his house, C.C.-sama," interrupted the boy again. "After his accident, it's natural that everybody he knew would suddenly want to shower him with extra attention regardless of the fact that he's pretty much as healthy as the next person. Nunnally (who will never say it aloud) will no doubt want him to remain with her as much as possible. I think he'll probably be stuck for another week or so before they calm down enough to stop dramatising the event."

Rubbing her temples wearily, C.C. took the phone. "Is this your idea or his? Certainly not yours because you must be mad to troop all the way out here through the rain to do this if you had a choice."

The boy grinned toothily. "His. He would probably leave Nunnally's side and march his up here if I didn't do this. He's rather stubborn."

* * *

Why was it that everyday life must stalled him for several days to a week whenever all he wanted to do was climb the steps of the Kururugi shrine, march his way through the forest and confront the woman in the abandoned church with his answers to her identity?

Make no mistake, it wasn't that he did not like to spend time with Nunnally and all his other friends – quite the contrary actually, at least with Nunnally – especially when they're only crowding him like this out of concern. He would think them rather inhuman if he really did have a car accident and they didn't bat an eyelash. It was just that said accident was fake and…that...how should he explain this? That the images of the woman were flooding every corner of his mind and his own voice could be heard echoing with each picture, 'What are you? A forest spirit. You must be a forest spirit. Here's the proof, look at this map.'

What do you call that? Stubborn? Mad? Well, right now, as he was stirring hot milk into cocoa powder in a set of mugs, he would like to call it 'persistence in seeking the truth'.

"Lelouch! Your cell phone is ringing! It's Suzaku. Can I answer it?" his stepsister shouted from the other room.

Lelouch practically spilt the hot cocoa in his haste to hurry the mugs out. "No, it's fine, Euphie. I'm here. Here's the cocoa and I'll just step out of the room and take this call."

Euphie stared at him as he removed himself from the room with one of Nunnally's maps.

"It's just Suzaku, did he really need to go to another room?" the girl giggled with Nunnally just as the door swished close and blocked Nunnally's answer from his hearing range.

"Hello? Suzaku?" he practically barked into his phone, his other hand fumbling to open the map.

"Was that another girl's voice I hear, boya? Should I be jealous?"

Outside his bidding, his lips twitched into a smirk as he ran his hand through his hair. "Evening to you too, C.C. and no, that was my stepsister who popped round to help Nunnally with her school project."

"You can think of a better lie than that, Lelouch," she teased and he could imagine the grin on her face as she played with the ends of her hair whilst she said those words. "Surely, a boy of your intellect would be able to help his sister ace university exams much less a school project. Well, pleasantries exchanged. I guess that was all you wanted to talk about now, yes? Goodbye."

"Wait!" he cried before regaining control again. "I must thank you for rescuing me from the car accident the other day."

"Oh, no need. Just buy me pizza the next time you visit. Is that all?"

"How are your 'rituals' coming along?"

"Rituals? Oh yes. Very well."

Right, pleasantries was really over with now. It was finally the moment he was waiting for ever since he woke up on the hospital bed. He stared at the map in his hands and leant back against the wall. This was the part where he proved she is a forest spirit – even though it'd be somewhat difficult explaining a map over the phone.

"C.C…" he began until words failed him. He waited for this. He rehearsed this conversation in his mind hundreds of times throughout the day but now, as he was about to say all those smooth words he memorised, he didn't know how or where to begin. "C.C…"

He licked his lips, an action that suddenly brought the image of him kissing her in the park to the forefront of his mind, and finally blurted out, "I know what you are."

"My, that sounds like a cheesy line from a teenage movie."

He laughed and scratched his eyebrows with the nail of his thumb awkwardly. "No. Stop kidding around with me, C.C. I'm serious."

"Aren't you always?"

"Yes, so…"

"You're wasting phone credit here, Lelouch. Say what you want to say. I have pizza to eat and Suzaku would like to go home soon. So? What am I today?"

He couldn't help the twitching of the beginnings of a smile at the corner of his lips. "A forest spirit," was his smooth reply and it made him wonder when talking back with C.C. became so… agreeable.

"Hm, nothing new there. Can I go now then?"

"Of course not, I haven't even starte-" he was about to launch into his lists of reasons that led him to that answer for her identity until something caught his eye. At the corner of the map, Euphie had written down several notes, mainly scolding Lelouch for drawing all over it like this but amongst it were several other comments that held his attention.

"Started?" her voice echoed through the phone as he stood in the middle of his hallway, gaping at the map in his hand. "Hello? Lelouch?"

His mind flashed back to the day at the park when he kissed her, rewinding until it was at the correct part.

_"What are you looking at?"_

_"Trees."_

"Trees…" he muttered.

"Trees?" she mimicked in confusion.

"I…I'll have to call you back. Do you have a number, C.C.? Or can Suzaku stay a little longer?"

"It's getting dark outside now, Lelouch, and the current weather is not very kind to forest trails. So, no, Suzaku cannot stay any longer. What is this about, Lelouch?"

Her voice was echoing in his ear now and his fingers shook as he clenched at the map. He tried to think of how the simple notes in the corner could match up with everything he knew. "C.C….are you by any chance a tree spirit?"

"I thought we've been over that one already, boya."

"Not the spirit of wishing tree!" he shouted and he could hear the muffled giggling in the lounge stop as Nunnally and Euphie stared at the door curiously probably thinking why he suddenly raised his voice. "C.C.," he tried again, breathing evenly and managing a passably collected tone of voice. "Are you the spirit of the chestnut tree that's in the middle of Central park?"

He could hear her breathing on the other end and Suzaku's voice in the background asking something incomprehensible.

"Are you, C.C.? Are you the tree that's been around in this city since it came into being and which will be cut down in two months' time?"

CLICK and the line went dead.

"Wha- No!" Lelouch spat at his phone, fumbling to dial Suzaku's number again and almost wanting to smash the device to the floor when it refused to connect. He looked back at the map in his hands then charged his way back into the now quiet lounge where his sisters were.

"Euphie!" the boy shouted, making the girl jump up in surprise.

Nunnally turned her head to his voice. "Is there something wrong, onii-sama?"

"It's nothing, Nunnally. No – wait – yes! There _is_ something wrong. Euphie, what is this you wrote?" he slapped the map on the table in front of his stepsister and pointed at the notes she wrote on the corner.

Euphemia stared at the words, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, "Um…Well, you called me over to help Nunnally because I've done this project before, yes? When I did it back then, I always found the chestnut tree's Latin name an annoyance to write out each time so I abbreviated it. Here, let me get you the full version of the name."

She flicked through all the notes on the table until she slid a pink piece of photocopied paper under his nose.

"Castanea crenata – abbreviation: C.C.," he whispered, reading off the words with dread. He slumped into the nearest chair. "She's a tree spirit? The tree is going to be cut down in two months?"

"Onii-sama?"

"Lelouch?"

"Onii-sama?"

"LELOUCH!" Euphie's arms reached out to catch him as he wavered on his chair and started toppling to one side.

"No, I'm fine…" said Lelouch, straightening himself with the help of the table. He glanced at the two girls before shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I think I'm just tired. I'll just… go to bed now."

"Onii-sama?" Nunnally asked again and felt her brother's lips touching her forehead in a kiss goodnight.

"I'm fine, Nunnally. I'm just tired. Euphie, can you stay the night and keep Nunnally company? Call for me if you're going to bed and I'll help you put her in bed?" He didn't wait for his stepsister's reply and headed out the door, feeling like his energy was being drained from him with every step he took.

Once he reached his bedroom, he didn't bother with the light. He closed the door and leant against it, sliding down to the floor until his elbows were on his knees. "What will happen to my wish then? What will happen to Nunnally?" he whispered and his ears strained to hear the faintest of sounds that could be heard in his room, begging that one of those sounds he heard could be a certain green-haired woman's voice giving him an answer.

* * *

He went straight for the church the next day, skipping school once again – well, it wasn't like his attendance record was perfect in the first place so what did one or two more days mattered. The rain had cleared up in the middle of the night but the air was still damp and the sky mostly cloudy like it was going to upturn buckets of rain any second. It was far from ideal weather to visit a shrine which worked out to his favour as it meant he didn't have to worry about the curious eyes of tourists watching him, a student who should be at school, disappear into the forest by the shrine.

The forest path was muddy and insects were everywhere if one cared to look, relishing the dampness of the foliage or finding a better place to hide from anymore incoming raindrops that might happen throughout the day. By the time he got to the church, his trouser legs were brown and he was almost tempted to throw them away by the end of the day rather than going through the nightmare of washing them.

"C.C.!" he shouted at the church door, banging loudly on it just for good measure.

"Go away," a muffled voice shouted from the inside. "It's too early to deal with you, Lelouch."

"C.C.! Open this door."

No answer was given this time. Grumbling, he was just about to shout again or even consider circling the building to find an open window to scale through when the door creaked open an inch. C.C. appeared in the gap, yawning and dressed in only a large, white dress-shirt. "What do you want, Lelouch? Do you know what time it is and didn't Suzaku already tell you in the hospital that I'm busy and won't be able to 'play' with you for a while?"

He attempted to push the door open but she would have none of it. "Are you not going to let me in?"

C.C. raised an eyebrow then flatly replied, "No."

Frustrated that he came all this way and was barred an entrance, he grabbed her arm and pulled her outside, making her gasp in shock as her toes sank into the damp soil outside her door. "We'll talk outside then."

She glared at her soiled feet then up at him before huffing, shrugged off his grip on her arm, closed the door behind her and leant against it. "This better be quick."

"Are you really the chestnut tree's spirit?"

She sighed loudly. "What if I am? Does it matter? And stop pacing, boya. It's too early in the morning to be acting so energised in front of me."

He ignored the latter comment and continued on the subject of her identity before he became too lost in the theories within his thoughts. "Castanea crenata, the Latin name for the chestnut tree in Central Park. That's your real name, isn't it?"

Her lips thinned into a line. "If that's all you're here for, I'll be going back to bed now."

He grabbed her arm for the second time that morning and his other hand reached up for her shoulder, pinning her in place against the church door. "Is it your real name, C.C.?"

"Does it really matter that much to you?"

"Yes, it does. I looked through Nunnally's project notes. Her school is having the debate over the removal of the chestnut tree as a school project."

"It's not the first time that happened," C.C. remarked with a shrug that was to loosen his hands off her again but this time he maintained pressure and kept hold – something she was obviously not too pleased with.

"Yes, it's not. Euphie did the same project and the local council decided to postpone the removal but this time…"

"It's confirmed, yes?" sighed C.C., staring at his face with hardly an emotion flickering across her eyes. It was enough to make him wonder how she could say the confirmation of her death sentence so easily. Was she really the spirit of the tree? Why was she so calm about this?

"Are you that tree's spirit?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does!" shouted Lelouch, making her flinch in surprise and stare up at him with wide golden eyes. His hands reached up and cupped her face firmly. "That tree – no, _your_ tree – records said it was the original wishing tree of the Kururugi shrine but it got too big and was moved to the park. But the move… I don't know. It must have cut the connection you had with your tree and you're stuck here, on the grounds where it used to be rather than where it is now."

He wanted to fumble in his schoolbag for the map he brought but he feared if he let go of her now, she'd slip back into her church and he wouldn't be able to get another chance at this. He bent his knees until they were at the same eye level so that he could stare into her eyes even if she lowered her head and hid behind that thick green fringe of hers. He needed to know. He needed to know if his words were true or not.

"I have looked at the map. Your bizarre way of navigating through the city, it was not because you're eccentric – well, you are actually – or that you can't leave the range of the forest. It was because you cannot enter the range of your chestnut tree. Your connection had been severed and you cannot get close to it. That was what you were looking at through the telescope, wasn't it? Your tree? I need to know, C.C.. What will happen? What will happen to you? What about all the wishes you granted? What about my wish?" he asked as firmly as he could though strangely it just came out in a whisper.

C.C. snorted, breaking off their eye connection and snapped back, "How would I know, boy?"

"You do know! You must know!"

"I said, I don't know." She turned back towards him, golden eyes burning with some kind of emotion he couldn't quite place a finger on and while he was trying to figure it out, she reached up and pulled him towards her by the collar.

Their lips met harshly, their teeth knocked against each other painfully and he was shocked enough to flinch backwards had it not been her hand suddenly snaking up and keeping his head where it was via the threading of her fingers through his soft hair.

She kissed him long enough for every single thought to escape his mind. She kissed him long enough for him to try to push her away so as to breathe and finally, long enough to make him fear she was trying to knock him out with whatever trick she used to cause his 'car accident'.

But then the pressure on his lips softened and her grip loosened in his hair. She pulled away, started to say something but his lips chased after hers and without even thinking of taking his time to regain his breath, he kissed her again, pushing the back of her head against the hard door of the church with his hands still cupping her face.

For a few seconds, everything didn't matter but once the seconds passed, she shoved him away, the back of her hand wiping at her mouth. "Why are you kissing me?" she asked icily with her eyes equally as cold. "Have you gone mad?"

"You kissed me first!" he said, with the words barely out of his mouth before he caught her again, wrapped his arms around her and captured her lips again.

"Wait! Stop! Lelouch!" she gasped in the scant few chances she managed to force her face away from him. "STOP IT!"

She smacked him hard across the face, enough to make him stagger away and blink back to logical thought.

He wheezed for breath whilst she composed her face to the cool emotionless mask she always donned. "Your wish, your wish and your wish. Yes, it always goes back to that, doesn't it? That's the reason you here, isn't it?"

She straightened her shirt stiffly then went back into the church, pausing from slamming the door closed only to regard him through the gap once more. "Don't come here for a while, Lelouch. I won't see you."

And she slammed the door closed like a book in his face.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 9


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

* * *

After a couple of times shouting and rapping his poor knuckles on the church door demanding it to be opened, Lelouch realized it was utterly pointless to get the resident inside to follow his very command.

He couldn't help suppressing an irritated sigh as he raked his hand through his raven locks, eyes burning at the door as if such stare was a magical spell that could pry the door open immediately.

Suddenly, thunder struck and water was falling from above, soaking him in the process.

"Oh, great," murmured Lelouch, "Perfect timing." He scooted closer to the church door– the very door that he had pinned her against just a few minutes ago – and pulled his jacket up closer to himself, thinking that he would have to take shelter under this tiled roof until the rain let up.

Lelouch somberly wondered how long he would have to stand here.

Thunder struck again and rain poured harder. He looked up at the gray skies with thick dark clouds floating and frowned - chances that it may let up soon seemed quite slim. He decided he hated rain.

Pressing himself even closer to the door, lest drops of water trailing from the roof should fall him, he glanced over his shoulder and shouted one more time at the church door. "Oi! Are you going to let me in now?" Silently, he hoped she was nice enough to comply.

The curtains over the window located on the left side to the door were drawn open and on the nice sheltered side of the glass appeared the girl whom he had just kissed. She stared at him intently, and for a moment he thought she was about to nod. She did, however, the exact opposite: she shook her head and… smirked? She was saying something but how in the world could he hear it amongst the rain, the loud, never-ceasing thunders and the thick walls that separated them?

Another thunder crashed. Lelouch desperately pounded on the door and shouted, trying his best to raise the volume above the deafening sounds. "Come on! Let me in, C.C.!"

The curtains dropped, just like that. That meant he was stuck out here for God-knows-how-long.

It was futile, he realized testily. Turning around from the door, he faced the pouring rain and the muddy paths then slid to the ground with his coat tightly wrapped around his frame.

Just as he was thinking of running home in spite of being in the middle of the storm, his cell phone rang.

Lelouch fished it out of his pants pocket and answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Onii-sama!"

"Nu-Nunnally?"

"Where are you?" She sounded frantic.

He bit his lower lip. Did she know he was skipping or did she thought he was still in school, obediently doing his duties? But if she assumed he was at school then why bother calling and sounding frantic? Unless… unless something had happened to her!

"Nunnally, are you okay? What's wrong?" he shouted, not because he wanted to but he had to in an effort for her to hear him over the background noise of the storm.

"Everything's fine," she said. "But there's a storm right now. Where _are_ you, Onii-sama?"

"Ahh, I'm… I'm at…" Should he be honest and tell her his exact whereabouts? Or maybe he should lie like all the other times. Taking two seconds to contemplate, he decided honesty was the best solution. "I'm at the church," he replied. "It seems like I won't be able to come home for a few hours." The still-pouring rain proved that.

A pause, then Nunnally spoke. "Why do you keep going there, Onii-sama?"

He flinched slightly at her strange tone. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it didn't sound normal. "I've had some business with C.C. and was going to go home as soon I'm finished, but that doesn't seem to be the case now," he said.

"Onii-sama…" Another pause. "Do you… do you love her?"

"_What?_" he sputtered.

"Well," Nunnally said, taking small pauses to choose her words carefully. "It's just that nowadays you often go to that place to the extent of skipping school. And then there's that accident and she _was_ there with you. It's just…" She trailed off but Lelouch didn't need to hear more; he had already heard enough to deduce the part she had left off.

Pulling his legs closer to himself to circle one free arm over them, Lelouch looked up at the skies once again, made-believe that he was one of those gray clouds floating above and pouring water from its centre endlessly.

Thunder struck again, yet he didn't even flinch out of surprise.

"Onii-sama," Nunnally was saying hesitantly through the phone. "I've never seen you act this way towards any girl before, so are you in love with her?"

Still staring at the skies with his head leaned against the wall, he said softly, "I don't know."

"Onii-sama…"

Another pause as both of them let the words sink in. Suddenly, a question popped up in his head, and to be honest he was glad he now had something to think about beside the way his feelings were messing with him lately, so he quickly launched into the topic.

"Let's talk about that later, Nunnally. There's something else I've been wanting to ask you."

"What is it, Onii-sama?"

"It's about the tree – your project. Is it true that the head of the departments is going to cut it down soon? In about two months?"

"Hm, I think so. We've been having a heated debate about whether it's a right thing to do. I mean, I've heard Suzaku say that the chestnut tree was originally the wishing tree of the Kururugi shrine but it got too big so they had to move it. So that means it's been in the town for quite a long time. Not to mention it's a very ancient tree; it will be a shame to chop it down," she said, sighing.

"I couldn't agree more," said Lelouch. "Nunnally, you like this tree, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Nunnally laughed softly into the phone. "Euphie often took me to play under the tree whenever you weren't around; it provides good shade and good playground, Onii-sama."

"I see," he bit his lip as if contemplating what he was about to say next. "I'll talk to the departments to persuade them to reconsider cutting it. It won't hurt to try, right?"

"Really? You will do that, Onii-sama?" Nunnally was squealing with joy and it made him smile.

"Of course. I'll go there right after the rain stops."

"That's wonderful! I'll ask Suzaku and Euphie to help, too. I believe the more the better," she was giggling now.

The rain wouldn't stop until another hour. Then, it was as clear as though the storm was just a mere imagination of the townspeople, and Lelouch made a beeline for home for a change of clothes before heading to the city hall.

* * *

"I already told you that it's impossible!" snapped the short, chubby and well-dressed man who was impatiently slamming his fists onto the glass table – it was a wonder that it didn't break from the impact. His short shiny golden hair was neatly slicked back with the help of way too much gel and he was dressed in a black suit with a crimson stripe draping diagonally over it on which was written 'Representative of…'. He glared at the teen in front of him, his small black almond eyes were burning with fury.

Lelouch shifted uncomfortably in the big velvet chair, crossing his right leg over his left one and propping his elbows on the armrests so that he could peer at the frustrated mayor through his intertwined hands. "Well, I believe you should take into consideration that not – repeat, _not_ – everyone likes the absurd idea of cutting down one of the most ancient trees in the town," he explained patiently.

The mayor groaned as he sunk into his swivel chair, massaging his temples wearily. "I don't care about the minority," he said flatly. "What we politicians care about is the _majority, _which, should I remind you, is in the favor of getting rid of it."

Lelouch was growing frustrated by this mayor's stubbornness, but wisely to keep his temper in check. "Why don't you make an exception just this one time? What's the harm of _not_ taking it down anyway? The tree isn't taking up too much space; you can still go about your 'political' business with the tree being there."

The glare the middle-aged mayor was giving Lelouch intensified. "What's the harm of taking it down then?" he challenged. "It's old and rotten and a nuisance— Look, there are plenty of arguments for taking it down and I'm not going to recite them all to you when it's all been printed in the newspapers already!"

"It's not rotten, nor a nuisance," he snapped, returning the glare head-on. "It's time you cared about how your citizens feel!"

The mayor laughed. It was a very, very dry laugh. "What do _you _know about my citizens' feelings? You're just a spoilt teenager. I bet your mommy still has to pack lunch for you everyday."

Lelouch's hands balled into fists without his realizing it. He glowered at the mayor with intensely enough that if look could kill, said man would be dead several times over by now. "At least I still have a heart," said Lelouch through gritted teeth. "Unlike a certain corrupted politician whose only purpose in life is to wait and be fed with money - rotten and dirty money." With that, he stood up with such force that the heavy chair scraped on the red carpet, and left without waiting for an answer or saying anything else.

"How did it go?" Suzaku asked immediately when he spotted his friend come out of the city hall.

"Can't you tell from the look on my face?" he snapped. Okay, Lelouch was grumpy and he was taking his anger out on his best friend. He knew that, but still he couldn't help it.

Suzaku looked hurt. Heaving a tired sigh, Lelouch turned around and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said. "It didn't go well so I was upset. It's not fair to take it out on you."

"It's okay," said Suzaku, shaking his head slightly. "I know how you must have felt."

Nodding, Lelouch started walking again with Suzaku by his side. "Thanks for coming with me. I know school is still in session and you had to ditch," said the raven-haired teen apologetically. "I just couldn't wait till school ends, you know."

Suzaku waved a hand. "I don't mind. My attendance wasn't that perfect to begin with anyway. But why do you care so much about this project, Lelouch? It's just a tree."

Lelouch bit his lip the third time today, wondering if it was going to swell up later from all the abuses. "It may be just a tree to you, but it's important to me," he said then added, "Sort of."

"Why?" queried Suzaku.

"I-I don't know myself. It just is, I guess." He looked up at the bluish skies, wondering how C.C. must have felt if she knew her death sentence had been passed.

* * *

That night, Lelouch walked up the steps to the shrine with the lit torch in his hand and a black coat wrapped comfortably around him. To be honest, having walked the forest trail at night quite too often lately, he wasn't scared anymore - not of wild, untamed animals that might jump him or getting lost in the woods.

When he reached the top the stairs, to his great surprise, he found a familiar woman standing by the wishing tree with her hand placing on its trunk.

"Hello, C.C.," he said softly and she turned around, startled.

"What are you doing here, Lelouch?" she murmured, dropping her hand and stared at him under her thick bangs.

He shook his head, not moving an inch from where he stood. "I'm not here to bother you about your identity if that's what you think," he said, "I just want to talk."

"Hm." She raised a delicate green eyebrow. "Isn't that what you _always _do? Trying to have a conversation with me first and then launch into your investigation?"

"Not this time," he chuckled.

"What changed your mind?" she asked coolly.

Lelouch looked at her, his face composed. "I went to the City Hall this afternoon," he said, ignoring her question. "I tried to change the mayor's mind about chopping down your tree, but…" he trailed off.

"It didn't work out," she finished quietly then a chuckle escaped her lips. "Of course it wouldn't. I guess it was lucky enough to have them postpone the execution date back then, but luck runs out eventually."

"I'm sorry. I just want you to know I've tried everything, C.C."

She chuckled again. "You shouldn't be bothered. Why are you always so proud?"

"And why are you so cold when we only have two months together?"

That surprised her. C.C. quickly looked up with widened eyes, her lips parted slightly. Then she shook her head vigorously as if trying to clear some utterly absurd thoughts. "_Together? _Do you realize what you're saying, boya?" she said, teasing tone attempting to creep back into her voice. Was it him or did her voice trembled a little?

"I'm aware of what I'm saying," he answered firmly. Then, he slowly took cautious steps towards her as if afraid that she might flee because of his advances. She held her ground. Her gaze was still on him intently.

When they were within arm's length, Lelouch quickly reached out his arms and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace. She didn't even gasp, let alone flinch.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered into his white shirt, body remaining rigidly still.

"Because I… I…" One of his hands touched her chin and tilted it up while the other wrapped around her small waist to keep her stay in place lest she should turn away. He kissed her. No teeth knocking this time and no trick to suffocate each other; it was a genuine kiss that pressed softly on her lips and eyes closed as if the only way he wanted to rely purely on action to convey words.

She stared at his closed eyes for a few seconds then placed her hands on his chest and pushed, detaching his lips from hers. "Lelouch, I don't know what you're trying to do bu-"

He leant forward again, his eyes still closed and his lips blindly touched her forehead, making her blink in surprise. "Lelou-"

He kissed the bridge of her nose then found her lips again. He kissed her once, twice, then pulled back – seemingly satisfied. She stared up at him strangely as if she couldn't decide where to place a piece in a jigsaw puzzle – which was ironic since that was usually how he felt, not her. Then she sighed, reached up, warms wrapped firmly around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss that sent him reeling for a few seconds before he responded back slowly.

It was the most passionate kiss they had ever shared.

After what seemed like an eternity, they broke away, panting slightly for breath. "Well I…" he began, but she placed her finger onto his lips, silencing him.

"It's okay," C.C. said, smiling for the first time but eyes looking anywhere but at his face. "You don't have to say it. Some things are better left unsaid." She moved her hand to touch his reddening cheek. "I won't see you for a while," she whispered then drew away with her hands behind her back. "Don't make it harder for both of us. Don't come here, Lelouch."

It was painful for his brain to register what she was saying, but it had to be done, so he nodded and stepped away. Without looking around, he dashed for the stairway with his bangs drooping down, covering his face.

She saw him off. One hand clutched the front of her shirt where her heart was, wondering why it ached so much.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER TEN


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Code Geass.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

* * *

He did stay away as she suggested. He stayed away from this place – from her – happily trying to get through life like always and acting like nothing was wrong. It worked for, perhaps, 48 hours but then he jolted awake the third morning trying to futilely grasp at the dream he just had and touching his lips, convinced that he had felt pressure on them. He knew it was just a dream and that the tingling feeling on his lips was just his imagination but it had felt so… well, he would say real but that was a tad bit too cheesy so he'd settle for complicated.

Lelouch sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms before sighing loudly and propped up his legs enough to rest his elbows on his knees. "Stupid witch… spirit… ghost… whatever," he grumbled, closing his eyes then snapping them back open when the darkness that usually accompanied the closing of eyelids was instead replaced by images of C.C.'s church.

He massaged his temples then stared at his closed bedroom door. Finally, he grunted and threw his legs over the side of the bed. "What the hell am I doing?"

He made his way to his desk, flickering on the lamp and grabbing sheets of paper as he yawned widely. "What should I be doing? Come on, Lelouch. You are not a genius for nothing. Think."

As he brainstormed for a plan to save everything, he armed himself with a pen and before he knew it, his hands practically rocketed the pen across the page, leaving line after line of writing in its wake.

From that moment on, every single moment of mental idleness was crammed with images of the green haired girl no matter how much he forced her out of his mind. Now, three weeks after their last meeting, he could bear it no longer.

"Why am I here?" he sighed, hammering his forehead lightly against the door before sucking in a breath and shouting, "C.C.!"

He didn't get an answer but he heard the T.V. being muted so that must meant she was home. "C.C.!"

"Did I not tell you to stop visiting me for a while, Lelouch?" a muffled voice asked through the heavy door.

He froze for a few seconds from hearing her voice. He had yelled for her but he wasn't completely expecting her to respond, especially considering how it was her idea to stay out of contact with each other. He cleared his throat. "What's going to happen to you? Just open the door. We can figure something out together. How can I help you if you don't give me more information about you?"

"Leave me alone, Lelouch," she said and the T.V. came back on.

He contemplated smashing in a window with a large rock but instead, he rapped at the door again. When he got no answer once again, he leant his forehead against the door, closing his eyes. "C.C., are you really not going to see me?"

"I don't see why I have to see you." He almost wanted to smirk at getting a reply but didn't when he thought of the answer to the question.

"You have a month and a week before you die or disappear or whatever it is that chestnut tree spirits do. I've started a petition to stop the process of cutting down the tree and sent letters to the departments. Surely, we could figure out some other way to stop them. There's no harm in trying."

"What else is there to do?" she answered tiredly through the door, voice distinctively closer now as if she was resting right against it. "If there is something that you and I could do to save the tree, you would probably have done it already."

"Why are you giving up hope so quickly?"

Her answer took a long while to come out of her mouth. "Boya – no, Lelouch – when you reached my age and have seen, heard, tried and been through as many things as I had, reality will become something that is so much more clearer than hopeful thinking."

After that, she didn't respond no matter how much he shouted her name or how red his knuckles became from knocking at her door.

"I'm not going to let you die, C.C.!" he shouted just as he turned to leave. He paused, waiting for an answer but when none came, he sighed and made his way back through the woods. "Don't die looking like that. You should die smiling," he muttered as each step took him further from the church.

* * *

Lelouch flung the letters into the bin with enough force to knock it over.

"Onii-sama?" asked Nunnally worriedly. Even Sayoko paused in the middle of setting their dinner on the table, choosing to hold the hot plate of stew aloft in the air and staring at Lelouch curiously instead of setting the dish down.

He raked his hand through his hair and resumed a more composed voice and expression. "Nothing, Nunnally - just some letters."

His sister frowned. "Are they from the department again?"

"Yes. Sayoko-san, please set down the stew here."

"What does it say? Sayoko-san, I don't want carrots in mine."

"The same thing it said in the past two letters. I'm starting to think they're not even making an effort in replying to us anymore and will simply keep sending us automated replies on this matter." He nodded his thanks to the maid as she set down his portion of dinner in front of him.

"That won't do! How can they dismiss us so casually? Sayoko-san, please bring me to the town hall tomorrow. I'll have some of my friends and classmates go too and we'll let the mayor know that the tree is loved very much. Surely, he'd rethink its removal then?"

Lelouch opened his mouth to dismiss the thought from Nunnally's head but a shared glance with their maid showed that no matter what they did, Nunnally probably wouldn't listen. It was probably better to let Sayoko bring her lest she attempted to go by herself. Lelouch slumped further into his chair, picking at the stew in front of him. For a single tree, even his precious disabled sister was willing to make the extra effort to save it. Why couldn't the mayor see that? Why couldn't C.C. see that?

* * *

He kept visiting her despite her insistence to remain holed up in her home and refusal to respond to anything he said or attempted. He considered smashing her windows five times now and succeeded in picking up a rock twice though. The first time, he ran his hands over the rock then dropped it back to the ground, rather unnerved that he would consider vandalism in order to talk to the frustrating, annoying, mysterious, pizza-holic, witch-like spirit that lurks in the church. The second time, he hurled the rock with all his strength and missed the glass pane so badly that Suzaku would have burst out laughing had he seen it. After that, he didn't pick up the rock again… until today.

He tossed the rock lightly in his land, satisfied with its weight and size before swinging his arm back in preparation to pitch the rock at the nearest window.

"Why do you care so much, boy?" sighed the voice somewhere among the trees behind him.

He froze then whipped his head round so fast that his bangs flicked painfully against his eyelids. But all he could see was trees, no green haired girl standing amongst the branches with that emotionless face that annoyed him so much. "C.C.?"

Had he finally gone mad? No, no, must be the lack of sleep…

"You haven't answered my question," she said without a hint of playfulness in her voice like it usually would when voicing words like these.

"Where are you?"

There was a 'tut' sound amongst the trees before she answered, "Here."

"Where?" He dropped the rock he was holding and started for the trees. It didn't take him long to find her; the colour of her hair, though green, was far too bright a shade for camouflage of any sort. She was sitting with her back to a tree and a box of unopened pizza on her lap, obviously she just returned from buying it. "Why did you respond? Since you've sat down already, you were obviously prepared to silently wait until I was gone." Wait, that wasn't what he wanted to say! He was here to talk about saving her tree and…urgh! What was with this girl and driving all his well -planned out conversations from his mind simply by appearing in front of him?

"I don't like broken windows, Lelouch. Drafts are terrible things to sleep with." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat as he knelt down to her level. "Come on, boy. Why do you care so much? Are you in love with me?"

"Hmph, who would love an absurd woman like you."

"Indeed, who would," she remarked with a smirk before pulling the brim of her cap lower and tucking her hand back into her pockets. "Now stop avoiding my question."

He reached a hand over and touched her wrist, moving his fingers over the joint as if he wanted to check he really was talking to her. "I care about you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was a straightforward answer for once. Let's try for another then. What am I to you?"

He jerked his hand back and stared at her aghast. "Pardon?"

"You heard me perfectly well."

"You're…" he hesitated. "You're my…"

He swore mentally. What was she? What was she to him? He gritted his teeth in frustration. After so many days, weeks, months and years of thinking and talking to her, surely he should have an answer by now.

"You're my…"

"Hn, as expected," C.C. sighed, getting up and dusting off the dirt and leaves from her bottom with one hand whilst holding her stack of pizzas in the other.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" he yelled suddenly and she blinked at him but he was glaring at her shoes. "You're making me think all these useless things, confusing me so that you can skip away and yet again evading all my questions, thoughts and words. I want to save you, C.C., and is that so hard to understand?"

"I understand that perfectly fine. You're the one who doesn't understand, boy. My questions are not useless. Think, Lelouch. Why do you want to save me? Why? I'm not a relative of yours. I might be an acquaintance. I'm not close enough to consider a neighbour. I might be a friend. Or perhaps a sister figure? What am I, Lelouch? What am I to you? Why do you care so much about my well-being?"

Why did he care so much? He shook his head. "The chestnut tree is going to be cut down tomorrow. This topic of yours is not as important. Can we just try to figure out…"

She knelt down in front of him and he flinched as she pressed her lips softly on his cheek. "There is nothing you can do about the tree, Lelouch," she whispered. "Why must you care so much about me?"

"Because…" His throat felt dry. He licked his lips. How was he supposed to answer her when he couldn't sort out the answer himself? Finally, he blurted out the first thing he could think of, "Because of Nunnally."

C.C. stared at him and he was convinced he saw disappointment flash across her eyes before it turned steely cold. She stood up once more and without a word, returned back into her church.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 11


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: We do not own Code Geass.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

The day had come and he barely even got two hours worth of sleep the night before. The moment the edge of the sun peeked over the horizon, Lelouch left his house and made his way to C.C.'s church. He didn't have to worry about Nunnally waking up and not finding him; Sayoko had already agreed yesterday to come early so as to attend to his sister's morning waking up rituals.

He climbed into the waiting taxi, gave the directions and glared out the window at the scenery passing by. Lelouch didn't care how or why but today he was going to drag an answer out of C.C. no matter what. How could she? How could she just sit, watch T.V. and eat pizza when her death sentence was finally being handed to her?

"Tch," was the sound that escaped from between his teeth as his fist tightened enough for his fingernails to leave prints in his palm. He leant an elbow on the window and rested his mouth against his knuckles. "Why do I care so much?" he grumbled as he glared at his reflection in the window.

* * *

Of course, it would be just Lelouch's luck to bump into Suzaku at the top step of the shrine. "Lelouch?" the brown-haired boy asked curiously upon seeing him heaving and panting up the stairs. With the amount of times he had climbed them, you would have thought the genius to be fitter by now.

What are you doing here so early?" Suzaku questioned further, stepping down to Lelouch's level to grab his arm and haul him up the last few steps so that the boy could sit on a bench. He didn't really need to ask, he knew perfectly well why his embarrassingly unfit friend was here so early in the morning with the sun just fully risen.

"I could ask the same of you," Lelouch wheezed, slumped on the bench and breaths coming out into the chilly morning air in white puffs.

"I'm going out for my daily jog," replied Suzaku sarcastically whilst Lelouch, not catching the sarcasm at first, made a sound that sounded like something between a sputter and the word 'what.' Suzaku snickered then let his amusement die out as his eyes drifted over to the edge of the forest. "I knew you'd come. I didn't know when but I knew you'll come so I figured I'll wait here bright and early so I wouldn't miss you."

When Lelouch's breathing returned to a more normal rate, Suzaku turned back to his friend and asked seriously. "Is she really a spirit of that tree, Lelouch?"

Standing up, Lelouch couldn't help but clench his fists and his eyes sparked with an ounce of angry frustration. "I don't know," he snapped then quickly schooled his emotions when he realised that the person before him wasn't the one who was the source of his bitter feelings. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

He started the march towards the forest and Suzaku fell quickly instep behind him with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. The forest path was too narrow for them to walk side by side but even still, Suzaku could still see the aggressiveness in each of Lelouch's moves – particularly his steps which made prints in the muddy path still soft from last night's rain.

"Why are you angry, Lelouch?"

"I'm not."

Suzaku rolled his eyes and stepped on the back of Lelouch's shoe on purpose, making him stumble in his step.

"Fine, I am frustrated. I admit that," grumbled the boy. "I'm sure you must be too. All my theories about what kind of being she was are sound yet she never, at any time, confirmed any of it. It's like knowing all your answers on a test were right yet it was never marked to prove they were right indeed."

Suzaku sighed loudly and stepped on the back of Lelouch's shoes again. "You don't have to explain. I know the feeling very well. I'm asking only just in case there's something …more."

Lelouch's steps slowed a fraction then picked up in pace and he kicked at bunch of weeds growing out onto the forest path. It didn't take a genius to pick up what Suzaku was hinting at but still, he insisted in playing the oblivious card. "What more is there?"

A hand clapped on Lelouch's shoulder twice knowingly and Suzaku emitted his second sigh of the day. "Do you love her, Lelouch?"

"Wha-" he started to sputter, mouth agape incredulously and his feet threatened to trip over each other. Suzaku clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and grabbed hold of the back of Lelouch's coat to stop him from really tripping and falling.

"Don't give me that, Lelouch. We both know very well that she's much more to you than a mere acquaintance. And no, C.C. never told me anything if that's what you're thinking."

Suzaku waited for an answer and when none came, he stomped through the wild vegetation, tracking all the dewdrops on their leaves onto the ends of his jeans. He circled around to plant himself in front of the boy, blocking his path physically and with a displeased stare. This question had been bugging him for a very long time and now that it was voiced aloud, he wasn't going to spend even more time waiting for an answer.

Lelouch glared at his friend, his teeth grinding together in frustration. He looked through the branches of the trees above and tried to guess the time by the colour of the sky. Why was Suzaku doing this now? Surely, they have more pressing matters to attend to – like saving a pizza-holic from death.

"It's not a hard question, Lelouch."

What do you mean it's not hard? Lelouch thought when it was by far one of the hardest questions he had ever encountered. Why was everybody so intent on knowing his relationship with C.C.? First, the pizza-holic herself, then Nunnally and now Suzaku. Was it because he himself didn't know what kind of relationship they had exactly?

"I don't know the answer to that question, Suzaku."

"Or you know it but haven't realised it yet. That or you're a stubborn mule and refuse to admit it."

"That's nonsense," retorted Lelouch but Suzaku only responded with a knowing eyebrow waggle before turning around and continuing their way through the forest. This time, the brown-haired boy was leading the way and his frequent glances back at his friend made it very clear that he was still waiting for an appropriate answer.

After a long while, Lelouch let out a long drawn-out sigh and scraped his nails through his hair and scalp. "I don't know what she is to me, Suzaku."

"Love of your stubborn mule life?" the other boy provided with a smirk that Lelouch couldn't see from behind.

Lelouch scoffed. Loudly.

"Fine then, friend?" was the next word in line provided by Suzaku.

"I don't know if it's that either," replied Lelouch with his brows knitting together. "It's something I can't find the words for. She's not a friend. She's like a special acquaintance yet not. I mean, acquaintances don't ki…" the words died out and Lelouch took on a more puzzled look, his hand clasped about his mouth and jaw and his eyes stared into the middle of Suzaku's back.

Acquaintances don't kiss, right? At least not that dee- er…passiona- hm…emotionally! Well unless it was one of those no strings attached relationships that involved sex which their relationship obviously lacked. Since they were not acquaintances, then what were they?

Without turning round to face him, Suzaku decided that it was about time the mule need extra help. "Lelouch, repeat after me: I love C.C."

"Augh, Suzaku for the last ti-"

"I know, Lelouch. I know but just say it," Suzaku interrupted. He would turn his head and scowl at Lelouch but chose otherwise, figuring it was probably easier to coax the boy into doing as he said if he didn't stare at him whilst he did it. "Just say the word 'I love C.C.' and _not_ sarcastically. Deep breath and out loud. Think of C.C.-sama as you do so as well."

No idea where his friend was going with this and most definitely giving him the strangest look possible from behind his back, Lelouch exhaled loudly, stopped his feet, closed his eyes and breathed. The green haired girl's image came to mind so easily that it was rather frightening. He could see tendrils of her hair catching the wind, faint amusement twinkling in the depths of her gold eyes, and her lips contorted into that knowing grin that tortured him so much over the years.

Suzaku had walked on ahead without knowing Lelouch had stopped and by the time he came back. Lelouch was blinking at him expectantly.

"Did you say it?" Kururugi asked and when the other boy responded with a nod, he continued his questioning. "How did it feel?"

"Odd."

"What does it feel like?"

"Can't describe it."

At this point, Suzaku had the beginnings of a smirk creeping into the corners of his lips. "Butterflies?"

Lelouch scowled then shoved him aside and continued on down the path towards C.C.'s church, leaving Suzaku to chuckle loudly and shake his head. Butterflies indeed – ridiculous! He most certainly did not feel butterflies!

It was flip-flopping somersaults in the throat alongside unexpected surges of unexplainable giddiness.

* * *

Lelouch rarely swore but today, in five minutes, he swore more than his month's quota of swearing. They had arrived at the church. The lights weren't on and there were no sounds of the television drifting through the air but that was expected since C.C. wasn't exactly an early riser. Yet there was that unsettling feeling in the boys' stomach as they approached.

When knocking and shouting proved useless in getting the door open, Suzaku surprised his friend by pulling a key out of his pocket and stuffing it into the door's keyhole, all the while his brows furrowed in a grim and dissatisfied line. No doubt, he was apologising to C.C. in his mind and then aloud the moment the lock gave way and the door creaked open.

Patience wearing thinner than a hair's width by now, Lelouch pushed past Suzaku, making it to the middle of the room before both boys realised how eerily quiet the place was.

"C.C.-sama?" Suzaku said loudly and the teens could hear his voice being echoed back by the large church walls. "She's not here…"

Lelouch walked over to the bed, throwing the heap of blankets aside just in case C.C. was hiding amongst them. "Not here," he growled then laid a hand on the slight dip at the centre of the bed. "It's cold which rules out her having just left."

"Nobody in the bathroom either… in fact…" Suzaku looked around and Lelouch followed suit. "I've been in here plenty of times in my life so far but it's probably the first time I've seen it this tidy and empty. There's not even a bin bag in the bin…Lelouch? Lelouch! Hey!"

The raven-haired boy had slumped into C.C.'s bed, the heels of his hands kneading into his closed eyelids and his teeth grinded together fiercely as it dawned to him what happened. "She's gone. She left us! She LEFT!"

He swore loudly, the words bouncing back from the stone walls and enraging him even more. Meanwhile, Suzaku slumped into the sofa, his hands buried deep into his brown bangs as he wondered how he was supposed to tell his parents that the forest spirit they served, respected and treasured for so many years had suddenly up and abandoned them.

"Did you see her walk out of the forest, Suzaku?" Lelouch suddenly asked, removing his hands from his eyes to stare at him as if the gaze alone could drag an answer out of him all that more faster.

Suzaku shook his head wearily, his hands still woven into his hair as he mumbled his answer. "No. She could have left before I woke up or from another part of the fore-" He jumped in surprised as a pillow suddenly whizzed right across the room within his line of sight. "What the? Lelouch!"

But Lelouch had picked up the bundled up bedcovers and flung them angrily as far as he could. They flopped against a standing lamp, which wobbled from the impact then fell over. It was only through Suzaku's speedy rescue that the light-bulb in the lamp was still intact.

"You coward," Lelouch screamed at the witch-less church. "You coward! Running away without a single word. We could have helped you but no, you wouldn't help us save yourself. You wouldn't tell us anything. You wouldn't tell me how to save you. You wouldn't tell me what you are. You never confirmed if my theory was correct or not. Are you the damn chestnut tree, witch?"

How the 'us' ended up as 'me', Lelouch didn't know nor care. He threw C.C.'s other pillow at the wall, hearing it smack into the brickwork before flopping clumsily down onto the chest of drawers underneath it and upturning half a dozen books.

He fell back into her bed, feet hanging off the side and the centre of his shoulders hitting that small central dip in the mattress. She slept here. For how long? Many years, surely. Right on that spot and now she just up and left.

"Suzaku."

Kururugi who was sitting on the floor, next to the lamp merely replied with a 'hm' sound.

"I think I do love her."

But it wasn't flip flops in his throat and a sudden surge of happiness that he felt this time. It was solid lump and an urge to lay there, do nothing and let his mind cloud over so that he couldn't think or dare think anymore. Despite that feeling, his mouth continued to let words slip out almost in a snarl. "I don't know what kind of love it is. It's not a love for an acquaintance, nor friend, family or even how I believe a lover should be."

"It's a love that's indefinable and for her alone?"

"Something like that," Lelouch choked out in a form of a chuckle. The chuckling grew louder and Suzaku stared up at the bed from his position at the floor.

Had Suzaku heard these very words coming out of Lelouch's mouth an hour ago, he would have been grinning stupidly at his friend but now… how was he expected to smile? Especially when Lelouch dissolved into what could only be described as maniacal laughter on the bed with his head thrown back, arms crossed over his eyes and his entire body shaking with each harsh bark of crazed amusement that escaped from his throat.

* * *

They arrived near the park just as the sun climbed to its noon position with Suzaku being unexpectedly dragged along by suddenly purposeful Lelouch. Far from appearing heartbroken at that point, Lelouch was actually tapping his foot impatiently as Suzaku paid the taxi fare. The impatient genius jogged onwards the moment Suzaku started closing the taxi door behind him.

"What are you doing?" asked his friend as he quickly caught up with him.

"What are _we_ doing, you mean? We're going to the park. We're going to stop the tree's removal even if I have to put myself between it and the chainsaw."

Suzaku's steps slowed a little and he took a few second to watch the other boy's back as he stomped his way past fellow pedestrians, weaving through past adults, elderly, children and pets as quickly as he could. Should he be proud his friend could square his shoulders and walk on with such a clip in his step? Or should he be worried because without a doubt, he was sure Lelouch will fall apart later once this was over?

They turned into the park, barely getting twenty feet past the gates before they were met with a string of yellow tape, traffic cones and men scattered along the tapes perimeter to make sure nobody stepped past the line.

"I'm sorry, sir," one of the perimeter guards piped up as soon as they approached and mingled among the curious crowd that had gathered. "But the park is closed for today."

"It's just a tree getting cut down, is there really a need to close the entire park?" a couple in the crowd grumbled as their child howled to be free of his push-pram.

The guard shook his head. "It's a large tree, madam. Granted it wouldn't reach here even if it fell but there are lots of workmen milling around to make sure it lands safely and also a lot of trucks and a crane will be moving around. It's for your own safety that we closed the park for a few hours at the very least. We wouldn't want the truck and crane drivers to be worried about accidentally hitting somebody after all. I hope you understand and you have our sincerest apolo- SIR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Even Suzaku gaped as Lelouch ducked under the yellow tape and dashed for it.

Puffing and wheezing, the skinny boy ran, finally putting into exercise the proper running technique Nu-sensei taught them in gym class. But unfortunately for Lelouch, his stamina was far from ready for the mad dash.

The guards of the perimeter left their posts and converged quickly onto the lone boy who hissed a swear word, feinted a left and long-jumped poorly over a bed of tulips, crushing more than a half a dozen of them under his feet with his jump's lack of height and distance.

The men caught him just as he disappeared around a fountain and loud swearing could be heard as they pinned him down to the grass.

"You don't understand! They can't cut that tree!" Lelouch screamed. "She'll die if you chop it down! You can't. You can't cut the tree!"

"What on earth are you talking about, sir?"

There was a ruckus over by the perimeter again and before the guards knew it, a brown -haired teen rocketed through the perfectly trimmed grass, vaulting over the hedgerows, flowerbed and benches like they were nothing. From his squashed position on the ground, Lelouch heard them immediately start firing orders down their walkies-talkies to stop Suzaku.

"RUN SUZAKU! STOP THEM!" he yelled, not caring how unsightly it was, how desperate it sounded nor whether he could be heard by Suzaku in the first place. He felt pressure being taken off his pinned arms and attempted to thrash off the rest of their hold on him but it was useless. He clenched his teeth and felt the grass tickle at his nostrils, teeth and eyelashes. Was it that impossible for him to do something on his own?

He would have sworn but instead the thing that left his mouth was an apology. "Sorry, C.C…"

* * *

When Lelouch next saw Suzaku, they were at the park's clubhouse being held prisoner with some fellow protestors who were already there. Suzaku was the eleventh one through the door and even before he opened his mouth to say anything, Lelouch had known even somebody as insanely athletic as Suzaku hadn't been able to stop them in time.

"I…" Suzaku started, placing a hand on Lelouch's shoulder then thought better and slid it off so that he could grasp his other arm uncomfortably. "She was already falling by the time I got there."

Lelouch fell back into his seat, his face buried into his hands as he took deep breathes. He wanted to cry, he wanted to shout, he wanted to hurt something, he wanted to wrap his hands onto something and smash the living daylights out of it, he wanted to….to…wanted to be left alone yet clung to at the same time. He…

He remembered the first time he saw her when he was a child. How she appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the forest in the odd combo of a kimono, impossibly green hair and holding a large box of pizza up high like a waitress would balance a tray.

What were her first words again? 'Hmm', he believed.

"Heh," Lelouch laughed. His throat clogged up as he felt the urge to scream at something until no sound came out. "What kind of first words was that? Heh!" he laughed again as his fingers curled into his hair and he pulled at the strands with enough force to rip several strands out at once.

"_Why should I be worried? She's not even a spirit."_

He laughed again, one of his hands sliding down to cover his nose and mouth.

_"Yeah? What kind of spirit eats pizza and be lazy then?" "Maybe I'm not really a spirit. Or maybe I am. Who knows, it's been so long since I last checked what I really am."_

He started laughing, at first silently into his hand and then somewhere, somehow he had thrown his head back, closed his eyes and started laughing as long and loud as he could. The other occupants shrank away from him in fear and Suzaku turned his head and pretended not to notice the madman his friend had become.

"_He had secretly been suspecting you to be the woman, that died and you became the spirit of the tree, thus granting wishes to those who post on your ema board walls."_

"_She could be a witch, an evil being, for all you know. Eternal youth is one of the traits for witches, is it not?"_

His throat hurt and burned from the laughing and he wasn't even aware of a phone going off nearby.

"_So? What am I today?" "A forest spirit."_

No, not forest spirit. Not witch either. Not ghost, not human, not the shrine's tree spirit, not witch, not human, not ghost, not wit-

"_Castanea crenata – abbreviation: C.C.,"_

"Hold on, Nunnally. Shh. Don't cry. I'll hand you over to Lelouch," Suzaku's voice cut through Lelouch's hoarse choking laughter like a hot knife through butter. He stopped mid-laugh and turned to his brown-haired friend with a face that was so blank that Suzaku hesitated handing his cell phone over to Lelouch's outstretched hand. Why were emotions like panic and alarm not spreading like wildfire across Lelouch's features at the very idea of Nunnally crying?

"_Can you really grant wishes? What are you?"_

"Nunnally?" Lelouch said, voice hoarse from the laughing. He didn't even have to place the phone right up to his ear to hear that something was wrong with her. She was hiccupping, sniffing and her words were a jumbled mess.

"Nunnally, calm down. What happened?" he tried, turning to Suzaku who shrugged in response.

"Onii-sama…" his sister managed to choke out after a loud, hard and noisy blow of her nose. "I…I…I-I-I.." She collapsed into sobs again and her next words came out in a rush. "Somebody came to the house today…"

Lelouch's hands turned white as he clenched the phone so tightly that the device protested with a faint creak. "What did they do to you?"

"She… she… I've never heard her voice before. I didn't know who she was. She came in and…."

Lelouch was out of his chair and strolling towards the door. He didn't care what the guards said, he was getting out of there. He could not do anything for C.C. anymore but he could for Nunnal-

"Onii-sama, I can see."

He froze in his tracks.

"_Can you really grant wishes?" _

"_What are you?"_

"I can see, Onii-sama. I can see," she stopped, took a deep shuddering breath and continued on, "Onii-sama, I can see. Everything. The chair, the table, the phone, the wallpaper, Sayoko-san, the door. I can see, Onii-sama," she gushed out in an almost indecipherable sobbing sentence.

"_Can you really grant wishes?"_

"_What are you?"_

How many times had he asked those questions?

"_What are you?"_

"_Can you really grant wishes?"_

"_What are you?"_

"_What are you?"_

"_What are you?"_

"I think she's C.C.," were Nunnally's last words before she dissolved into a mess of tears and sniffing. At the same time Lelouch also breathed a similar answer. "She's C.C."

"_I'm__ C.C__.,"_ the witch's voice in his mind repeated in the wake of Nunnally and Lelouch's answers.

"_Can you really grant wishes? What are you?"_

"_What am I to you, boya?"_

"She's C.C.," Lelouch said again before his legs gave way and he fell to the floor.

_"I wish for Nunnally to see and walk again."_

She gave him part of his wish…so why wasn't he happy? Why wasn't he jumping with joy?

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 12

* * *

**Anonymous**: Sorry the chapter is late and we both agree! It ends so soon.

**Anon**: We didn't even realised it! It makes us happy that we made it to an anniversary yet a little guilty for taking so long with the story.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Geass.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

She looked up at him, squeezed his hand tighter and beamed brightly. "Distance makes the heart grow fonder!" she said, laughing.

His eyes widened at the statement.

Another girl strolled toward them with a brown suitcase in one hand and a plastic bag that he assumed contained all sorts of snacks in the other. She stopped next to the brown-haired girl, crouched down slightly and smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" asked the girl.

Nunnally nodded. "Yes." Then she glanced at her brother. Bright violet eyes – _bright violet eyes _– studied him for a minute. "Are you going to be fine by yourself for a few days, onii-sama?" inquired Nunnally.

Lelouch bent down to level with her face and said. "You go and have fun, Nunnally." Then he planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

She reached out her arms and laced them around his neck, pulling him into a tight, warm hug. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered, and pulled away. The other girl smiled politely at Lelouch, gave Nunnally the suitcase to put on her lap and started wheeling the young girl away, toward the parked bus.

Students were milling onto said bus, their laughter filled the chilly air of the morning. A couple of girls saw and waved at Nunnally; some of them even ran over to aid her in case she needed something. A small, subtle smile crept up Lelouch's face as he noticed how much people loved and adored his sister. Who wouldn't? Who could resist Nunnally's indefinite kindness?

And now that Nunnally could see, she was finally able to tell the difference between the fake and the genuine. The eyes are the window to the soul, after all.

And _she _had kept her promise. _She _had fulfilled his wish before disappearing.

A part of his wish, that is.

The crippled girl turned around one last time and waved at him. Her smile was so bright it could literally light up the whole sky. He couldn't help waving back and shouted, "Have fun!"

Then she was pushed onto the bus by her friend and vanished into the interiors. Minutes later, the bus rolled away.

Lelouch stayed for a little longer, even after the bus was out of sight though its faint, low engine was still heard in the distance. He stayed because he wanted to remember. He stayed because there was something he didn't want to forget, though he was sure most people of this town already did.

In this place, right where he was standing, right where Nunnally had been sitting in the wheelchair a moment ago was a vacant spot that had been so full two years ago. Full of life, full of wishes, full of hope and disappointment.

He turned around and came face-to-face with the empty, lifeless spot that had now been taped around as if the mayor couldn't decide what to do with this particular small piece of land. As if his decision back then had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, and now he couldn't take it back.

Lelouch stepped closer to the yellow, annoying tape. He had been toying with the idea of sneaking out at night when everyone's sleeping and tearing the tape apart. But the greedy mayor would put it up again, anyway.

Maybe C.C. was ready to go, but that didn't mean he was ready to let her go.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he slightly ruffled his raven locks. Time went by fast. Already, he had graduated high school and moved on to college. Fortunately, the town they were living in had this great university so he didn't have to worry about applying to colleges in the cities or other towns. Unfortunately, this university didn't have any major or program that interested his best friend enough for him to stay, so he had taken off to Tokyo to join the military right after high school.

A year ago, Lelouch received a letter from his best friend. Seemed like Suzaku was doing well. The military life suited him and he got to travel around the globe with each assignment he had. It was dangerous engaging in battles indeed, but that was what Suzaku chose and Lelouch respected it. Though that didn't mean he, or even Nunnally for that matter, had to like it especially when on top of their missing him, they had been left to deal with a worried Euphy who stressed herself out in front of the television, newspapers and internet from the very moment she assumed Suzaku was anywhere near a dangerous area.

Lelouch remembered the first time Nunnally read the letter Suzaku wrote them by herself. How her eyes lit up and she hungrily drank in the words and their meanings. He would never forget that sight. And how she had cried at the end out of happiness and content, he would never forget that, either.

It was all thanks to a certain pizza-holic, annoying, sly, evasive witch.

The wind was breezing by, sending fallen leaves scattering and chasing each other in looping swirls. Lelouch took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Every morning he came to this place just to look at the spot where the chestnut tree had been, to remember what happened between him and her, to not forget the things worth remembering.

Then, he turned around and walked the opposite direction. Class was starting soon.

That night, Lelouch was cooking dinner when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Onii-same, it's me." Her sweet, familiar voice filled his ear.

A smile spread across his face as he switched the phone to the other side. "Hey, Nunnally. How's the field trip?"

"It's great." He could actually hear the laughter in her voice. "But of course it'd be much better if you could come with us."

He put the pan on the stove, turning up the heat. "You know I'd miss a lot if I skipped school. This is different from regular high school, Nunnally," he chuckled.

She laughed. "I know." Quiet, then, "I'm so glad I can see now, onii-sama."

He stopped whatever he was doing. His long bangs drooped down to cover his eyes as he tilted his face down to stare at the pan's contents.

"Everything is just so beautiful. All the things that I look at, they're full of color and liveliness. Today, we went to the cherry blossom garden, and you should have seen how colorful they were. There were red, pinkish trees and some that looked almost white. It's just so amazing…"

Nunnally was saying more but he couldn't concentrate anymore. His mind was drifted back to the green-haired 'spirit'. The 'spirit' that had granted him his wish, his most desired wish for Nunnally to see again. Of course she didn't fulfill his other ones. Could it be that she knew those weren't as important? No! They had to be. All his wishes were important. That's why he bugged her constantly, right? Because she's a spirit. Because she's supposed to grant his wishes like she did many others. Not because he had been yearning to see her every day. Certainly, not because he was having that – no, _this_, because it's still very much lingering - strange, unexplained feeling toward her. Right?

Right?

"Onii-sama?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Nunnally, I was…"

"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned, and he mentally kicked himself for being distracted so easily. Two years on and his mind was still capable of running a looping argument with itself when it was anything regarding her. How silly and useless.

"Yes, I'm fine," he managed a smile but the gesture was unseen by her.

"I think you're tired," said Nunnally. "Get some rest, onii-sama. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Frankly, he was glad to hear that. "Alright, be careful, okay?"

Before he could hang up, however, she spoke quickly. "Do you think we can visit the shrine when I come back?"

There was a long silence on the other end, and when she was sure he wouldn't answer, he said. "Of course. Anything for you."

When he put the receiver back onto its cradle, Lelouch couldn't help but wonder what made Nunnally say the words she did this morning. _Distance makes the heart grow fonder…_

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder," he mused aloud, eyes stared straight at the darkening skies outside. "Distance makes the heart…"

It was true. He thought he would be able to forget her as time moved on, as they were separated for eternity. At first, that was what he had hoped to happen, to forget her. But now, it became painfully clear that he couldn't, and somehow a small, tiny part of him was glad for that fragile yet unbreakable bond.

Outside, a crow flew by.

* * *

"Time went by fast, huh? Already, it's been three years."

"Yeah."

"You still come here often?"

"Not really."

"Well, you did when she was still here." Suzaku let out a chuckle.

Lelouch didn't answer right away because he knew Suzaku was right. Suzaku had taken a few days off from the busy military training to come visit his hometown, and mostly Euphie, his best friend and others that he loved. He had come back unannounced when the sun was still sleeping lazily behind the horizon, and to say that Lelouch was merely surprised with widened eyes was an understatement. (Nunnally was still on the field trip. That's what happens when you visit someone without warning.) Lelouch was soon led to believe that there's a strong, sort of obvious bond between his half-sister, Euphie, and Suzaku because said girl stared at him for a split second, then the next she was already in his arms, kissing his cheek furiously. Lelouch had to chuckle at the scene because he knew all too well that Suzaku didn't dare to advance on Euphie out of respect for his and Lelouch's friendship; he didn't want to risk it if his and Euphie's relationship happened to turn sour. But Lelouch didn't mind anymore. It's time to shut and seal the restrictions door.

Now, he and Suzaku were sitting on the front porch of the church. The church had become vacant after she mysteriously disappeared. All the furniture was still inside but no one had touched it for a quite some time.

Suzaku popped open a can of milk coffee and took in a big gulp. He swiped his sleeve over his mouth when he was done. "This place hasn't changed. Always so peaceful," he said.

Lelouch popped open his own can of tea but didn't drink right away. Instead, he shook it around gently, careful to not spill the content inside. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

And he let out the question he had been dying to ask Suzaku ever since her disappearance but the opportunity never presented itself until now. "Do you still believe in her? Is she still a 'forest spirit' to you?"

There was this thoughtful look on Suzaku's face as he contemplated the inquiry. His long fingers absentmindedly played around the can's top. Finally, he turned toward Lelouch and said, "Well, do _you?_"

"I asked you first."

"For me, she will always be a forest spirit. Lelouch, I practically grew up with the idea of her being that way. My parents had always said that she's the savior of the Kururugi household and that we are eternally indebted to her. No matter what happens or what anyone might say, she _is_ still C.C.-sama."

The fact that Suzaku didn't use past tense when referring to C.C. didn't go unnoticed by Lelouch.

"What about you?" Suzaku suddenly queried after swallowing another mouthful of coffee.

The raven-haired teen looked up at the bright blue skies, brought the can to his mouth and sipped it slowly, as if to buy time to think the question over.

Finally, he uttered with eyes still staring upwards. "I don't know."

"She granted your wish, didn't she?"

"Yes, but-"

"If she wasn't a spirit, then how could she do that?"

Lelouch was shaking his head. "I don't know. That's what I've been trying to figure out. I mean, she _did_ grant my wish, but only a small part of it."

A brown eyebrow jerked up on Suzaku's face. "There were other parts?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, but they weren't important." Lelouch shifted, uncomfortable with the lie he was delivering.

Suzaku shrugged casually. "Well, if they weren't then that's why she couldn't fulfill them. In case you haven't noticed, people only came here with wishes that they truly, desperately wanted to happen."

_I wanted to know her true identity! I wanted for Nunnally to both see and walk again! I wanted her to be honest with herself, to take off that cold mask! I wanted to… to have the courage to…_

Those were the things he was ready to shout out. And he probably would have had Suzaku not interrupted his boldness by crushing the empty coffee can under his heel.

"No matter what happens, she is still C.C.-sama to me, Lelouch," repeated Suzaku as he started to get up. Dusting off his pants, he looked down at his best friend. "Believe what you want, but is there any point of talking about this when the person in question no longer exists?"

"Has it never occurred to you as to why and how she disappeared?" Lelouch could feel his own brows quirk up slightly.

Suzaku glanced toward the sky with hands dug in his pockets. He answered without making eye-contact with Lelouch. "She is a spirit, Lelouch. How can anyone _ever _explain her being, what she does, and why she does it?"

It suddenly came to Lelouch that he had lost the battle. Lost it long before it even began. And that made him laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Suzaku, surprised.

Lelouch waved a hand at his puzzled best friend, saying. "Nothing, don't worry about it." The faint smile was still playing on his lips.

A grin slowly crept up Suzaku's handsome face then he turned around and started to make his down the forest path that was just about visible in its prime but now was overgrown so badly that had they not had the path firmly etched in their memories, they wouldn't had known where to look for it. "Okay. Then, what do you say we go for lunch now?"

"I want pizza," he blurted out without even thinking about it, and that startled him a bit. _So the witch's obsession finally started to rub off on me, huh? _He mused.

Suzaku's bright emerald green eyes lit up. "That's Euphie's new favorite, too. C'mon, let's go." Then he strode off amongst the trees. Lelouch stood up, brushed off his pants, stole a glance at the cold, empty church which was now covered with moss and weeds sprouted around its base and cracks in the walls. All the heaviness that had been building up inside his chest and troublesome thoughts in his mind all of sudden went away like a cool spring breeze. He came to realize that maybe, just maybe, she was a spirit after all. A sly, evasive, pizza-holic, irritating spirit. But at the end of the day, C.C. was what she was.

A smirk crossed his face as Lelouch followed his best friend's lead. They wove their way back to the shrine and subsequently the stone staircase that led down and away from Kururugi soil and toward civilization.

When he reached the top of the stairs, however, he stopped short.

In the wind and among the sound of the clinking chimes, there was a voice. A very faint voice, hardly there, but if one strained his ear enough, it was unmistakably there.

"What an interesting boy…"

He turned around. "C.C.?"

"What am I?" the barely audible voice whispered.

So many answers, words, responses and replies surged forth from his mind and spilled onto his tongue but not even one slipped past his teeth. Instead, he looked at the ema boards that she used to study so curiously, his hands moved out of his pockets as he walked away from the stairs and traced his fingers down the plagues on the board.

"Do you have an answer yet, boy? What am I and what am I to you?"

His lips quirked up, his vision filled with luscious strands of bright green hair and a flash of gold. "You're C.C."

* * *

**THE END**

**A/N: **It has finally come to an end, and we would like to thank you so much for your support, for reading and reviewing this little story. We really appreciated it :) So we hope you enjoyed our little ride!

Have a nice day!


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